Lewis Hamilton’s “cool vegan persona” blamed for F1 downfall

Juan Pablo Montoya has taken aim at Lewis Hamilton, claiming his “cool vegan persona” has impacted his F1 form.

Hamilton has struggled during his first season with Ferrari.

The seven-time world champion is on course to be the first Ferrari driver since Kimi Raikkonen in 2014 to miss out on a top-three finish in a grand prix.

Hamilton’s struggles in recent races have led to a plethora of discussion about why he’s struggling to replicate his glory days.

Montoya has now made reference to Hamilton’s lifestyle choices.

Hamilton became a vegan in 2017, but it didn’t slow him down at all, beating Sebastian Vettel to the title that year.

Hamilton would go on to win three more titles to equal Michael Schumacher’s F1 record of seven.

Speaking to CoinPoker, Montoya believes Hamilton’s lifestyle choices are not those of a “successful racing driver”. 

“I don’t get it. Hamilton wants to be portrayed as this cool vegan guy who doesn’t want to hurt any pets or any animals,” Montoya said.

“But that guy shouldn’t be a race car driver. Because the guy that wants to be a successful racer 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 [Verstappen] 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’s tough Ferrari campaign

Lewis Hamilton has enjoyed very few high moments during his Ferrari career so far.

His pole position and win in the China sprint appeared to be a breakthrough moment.

However, a double disqualification for Ferrari in Shanghai put them on the back foot and forced them to compromise their car setup.

Hamilton was in contention to take pole at Silverstone but made a mistake into the final chicane.

He was in the fight for his first Ferrari podium but ultimately lost out to Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg.

The last two races have knocked Hamilton’s confidence, as he was knocked out in Q1 twice in Belgium.

He was lapped and finished outside the points at the Hungaroring, resulting in a frank “I’m useless” admission.