Lewis Hamilton in trouble over controversial Mercedes sponsorship deal: ‘I didn’t know anything about it’ | Formula 1 in Saudi Arabia

In England, there was an uproar last week after Mercedes signed a deal with Kingspan, the company involved in the Grenfell Tower fire in London in 2017, which killed 72 people. Neighborhood residents rioted, wrote a letter to team boss Toto Wolff, and even demanded that the government break the deal. It is highly suspected that the material Kingspan used to insulate the tower was combustible and had a significant effect on the spread of the fire.

The moment Hamilton asked about her, shortly after taking the lead in Saudi Arabia, was fascinating. But two British journalists wanted to know what the driver thought of the deal. At first Hamilton refused to answer, and after a moment he refused to answer. “I didn’t know anything about this agreement. It was news to me last week too. I don’t have anything to do with it, unfortunately my name is associated with it now because the logo is on my car. But we’ll see if it stays that way. Toto is working on it. I was Fully aware of what happened there with all those families.”

Wolf had previously conveyed his apologies to people who experienced the news as distressing. He’s gone into more detail in his press conference now. “We want to start a dialogue with the community, with the survivors, to better understand their pain. This process has not started yet and it benefits from privacy.”

Wolff did not say whether the logo would remain on Hamilton’s car. “We will find a solution, but we want to do the right thing with integrity.” He was modest about his role in this matter. “I can learn from this. We all improve in our lives. I hope to make better decisions.”