Mercedes forced to issue official apology after Lewis Hamilton 'mistake' following backlash from F1 fans

Mercedes have been forced to apologise on social media after making a mistake relating to Lewis Hamilton.

On Sunday, Formula 1 returned with the Canadian Grand Prix as Max Verstappen got back to winning ways at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

The Red Bull superstar and reigning world champion finished three seconds ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris and Mercedes driver George Russell.

On the back of Russell claiming third place, Mercedes wrote on social media: “Heading home with our first trophy of the year. This one is for everyone in Brackley and Brixworth that have been working so hard to move us closer to the front.”

However, the tweet with met with heavy criticism as fans reminded the team that Hamilton won a trophy for finishing second in the sprint race during the Chinese Grand Prix.

One fan replied: “You mean Second?”

Another tweeted: “So basically Lewis doesn’t count.”

A third fan added: “Hamilton. China. Sprint.”

Someone else wrote: “Actually, Lewis brought home the first trophy of the season in China.”

In response, Mercedes have released another statement, it read: “This is our second trophy of the year, not our first as we mistakenly said. All Sprint and Grand Prix trophies matter to us.

“Thank you for holding us to account on this mistake.”

Speaking after coming home in seventh place, Hamilton said: “Firstly, congratulations to George for a great job. It's really great for the team. Obviously everyone has worked so hard to bring upgrades back at the factory, so this will be a real huge boost for everyone back at the factory.”

Russell said: “We were really quick at the beginning of the race on the inters, and then obviously Lando came through really fast, and then we jumped back onto the slicks, made a couple of mistakes out there, just pushing the limits and paid the price for it.

“We had the pace. Max was very strong at that point of the race. But then when we put the mediums on at the end, we were really, really fast. I think that mistake with Oscar when I tried overtaking him and I lost the position to Lewis cost us at least P2 and maybe going to fight with Max later in the race. But we'll take all the positives from this weekend. First podium, first pole position of the year and excited moving forward.”

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