Lewis Hamilton defends decision not to attend F1’s London event

Lewis Hamilton has defended his decision to miss Formula 1's first ever F1 Live event, which saw every current driver bar the Mercedes man in attendance to entertain tens of thousands of fans ahead of the British Grand Prix this weekend.

Hamilton, who many will have turned up to see on Wednesday, chose to instead fly to Greece with some close friends, and the Briton insists it was the best way for him to prepare for this weekend.

"People will have opinions about it but I am trying the best I can and as it is a very intense season I am trying to prepare the best I can for the battle," he said on Thursday.

"Other people have other ways of doing it. I love this Grand Prix and I love this race so I don't feel yesterday plays any role in how great a race weekend this is for me."

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When asked if he had seen images and video from the event, he replied: "I genuinely haven't been on my phone for the past couple of days I've been trying to switch off.

"I turned it on a couple of times to receive messages but other times I've tried to stay away from it."

Hamilton says he informed Liberty Media and his Mercedes boss Toto Wolff about his decision and suggested the media were looking for a story that isn't there.

"I told the organisers last week that I wouldn't be going and I spoke to Toto Wolff and informed the team which they understood and were respectful of the decision.

"When I go and visit a hospital and visit kids that can't attend a grand prix, that's important to me and that's not something you report on," he added.