28/04/2018
NEWS STORY
Lewis Hamilton has dismissed Bernie Ecclestone's claim that he is not the racer he was.
Speaking to Sky Sports on Friday, Ecclestone opined: "I don't know whether it's me, but when you talk to him and see him act the way he acts generally, he's not the racer he was.
"He's still very quick, still super talented, still a super nice guy," he added. "But maybe he just getting a little bit tired of travelling and he's fed up with things. I thought he would win every race, so I've been proved wrong."
Asked about the comments after narrowly missing out on pole position today, rather than claiming that Ecclestone is not the F1 supremo he was, Hamilton opted for discretion.
Asked if he had a response to Ecclestone's claim, Hamilton replied: "Not really, no."
Asked if he still feels he is as good as he's ever been, the Briton smiled and said: "We'll see at the end of the year."
As far as Toto Wolff was concerned, it was (Bernie) business as usual.
"All of us very much respect Bernie," the Austrian told reporters, "but we have also learned to take the comments with a smile.
"Lewis is remarkably easy with these kinds of things," he continued, "I think that he sees it pretty relaxed.
"Bernie comes in and throws a hand grenade and it's in the papers... it's great. It's Bernie's way, he got all of you here and me, and he made the sport big. It's the off-track and on-track narrative and another thing to write about and talk about."
Check out our Saturday gallery from Baku, here.