Lewis Hamilton’s lifestyle choices have agitated a former F1 icon.

Lewis Hamilton’s ‘cool vegan guy’ persona has been called out by seven-time Grand Prix winner Juan Pablo Montoya. The Colombian, who raced in Formula One for Williams and McLaren, believes that a killer instinct is what separates the 40-year-old from reigning world champion Max Verstappen. Hamilton made the switch to the vegan lifestyle in 2017, adopting a plant-based diet for ethical and environmental reasons.

The Brit has been vocal in telling his adoring fans to boycott animal exploitation for entertainment purposes and investigate the benefits of a vegan lifestyle. He even invested in a restaurant chain, Neat Burger, alongside Hollywood icon Leonardo DiCaprio, which served vegan alternatives to popular high-street fast food items. However, earlier this year, the organisation opted to permanently close its remaining UK locations. Even his dog, Roscoe, follows a vegan diet.

However, according to Montoya, Hamilton’s veganism is symbolic of the reasons behind his recent struggles. “I don’t get it,” he told CoinPoker. “Hamilton wants to be portrayed as this cool vegan guy who doesn’t want to hurt any pets or any animals.

“But that guy shouldn’t be a racecar driver. Because the guy that wants to be a successful racing driver is the person that doesn’t mind crushing people in his head. He does whatever it takes to win. That is what Lewis used to be; that is what Max is.

“I think from what you hear, he’s working really, really hard, and he really wants success. That is very good to see, but he’s probably not getting enough traction within the team to get the changes. It’s really hard to get traction when the other guy on your team is quicker than you.”

Hamilton is in somewhat of a funk heading into the post-summer break stretch. The seven-time world champion has failed to score a podium finish in his first 14 race weekends as a Ferrari driver, and after challenging weekends in Belgium and Hungary, his confidence appears to be at an all-time low.

The Stevenage-born racer declared his performances as “useless” after qualifying at the Hungarian Grand Prix, where he failed to reach Q3 for the third time in a row, including sprint shootouts. He also told Ferrari to “change driver” if they want better results.

Verstappen, meanwhile, has been extracting the absolute maximum out of his machinery in 2025, scoring two wins for Red Bull, who sit fourth in the Constructors’ Championship standings. That said, the four-time world champion is only 15 points ahead of George Russell in the standings, and has scored just one podium in his last seven Grands Prix.