Lewis Hamilton grabs claims he cheated to win the F1 title

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Lewis Hamilton has said he was given extra motivation to win the Formula 1 title after being accused of cheating by Red Bull boss Christian Horner.

Hamilton spoke out ahead of the upcoming F1 races in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi in the coming weeks on the allegations against Mercedes, for which he drives.

His comments came after Horner, UK team principal of the Red Bull Racing F1 team, claimed there was evidence from social media to suggest that Mercedes used components in its cars that were “in clear violation” of the regulations .

Horner accused Mercedes of being charged by using illegal rear wing parts on its cars, but Hamilton dismissed allegations of fraud, calling such allegations the “worst” that could be made.

We all have egos and that is what controls our emotions and it is egos that fight each other. There is defense, there is respect. But what’s important … I’ve seen someone say something about cheating, and that’s the worst of all.

Hamilton said he called Mercedes senior engineers James Allison and Mike Elliott and told them he really wanted to[s] to know about these things ”, they explained, they took him“ through the details of where we are ”.

He continued, “We did all of these tests and here it is. But I don’t like it when people put this out. I don’t think we took advantage of any loophole. [Red Bull] Did it with your grand piano earlier this year and then they changed that rule and now it’s a lot stricter and the grand piano can’t do anything. ‘

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Hamilton assured that the allegations had not “tainted” the title fight, but stressed that it was “wrong” to claim fraud.

The F1 driver said the allegations gave him additional motivation to secure the title, noting that he “made all the sacrifices” [he] could be this year “to stay focused. He said, “I think I have left no stone unturned so I have no regrets at this point in the year.”

Last month, Horner said that if the team deploy a wing with “score points” that would allow them to reduce drag, a protest against Mercedes would be likely in the final two rounds of the title. Mercedes boss Toto Wolff admitted that Horner was entitled to “his perspective”, but made it clear that he believes the car is within the regulations.