Former Formula 1 Team Manager Joan Villadelprat has hit-out at seven-time Formula 1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton, labelling him a “spoiled little boy.”
Villadelprat has worked for McLaren, Ferrari and Tyrrell Racing, Benetton Formula before working for Prost Grand Prix and explained that he thinks Hamilton is not the same driver as when he won in 2008.
Hamilton had called for the team to take “accountability” after he said Mercedes ignored his advice on what the car needed last year.
George Russell has out qualified Hamilton for the first three rounds of this year’s F1 season and reflecting on the opening races of the season in an exclusive interview with Spanish publication El Confidencial, Villadelprat commented on Russell’s strong performance at Mercedes and attacked Hamilton for being a “whiner” over the lack of pace from the Silver Arrows.
“Hamilton is fed up and, if he doesn’t win, he’s like a spoiled little boy: you either win or you break the toys,” he commented.
“He’s a whiner, you know. The tyres, the strategy, he questions everything, and he has screwed up. When you have a [teammate] who is faster than you, it is normal to be quiet and put your head under your wing.
Hamilton currently sits ahead of teammate Russell in the standings following a second-placed finish in the Australian Grand Prix where Russell also retired from the race with a mechanical issue.
“I think he hasn’t lost but, after seven titles… What motivates you? Well, win another. And you’re not going to risk your skin if you don’t have that car. What is evident is that Hamilton is not the same as his first or second championship.”
The 38-year-old has previously insisted that he will not retire until he wins an eighth F1 World Championship.
