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F1 fans were left in splits after Lewis Hamilton reportedly left his third-place trophy at the FIA gala as a sign of protest against the governing body's recent actions last week.
The FIA had launched an investigation, allegedly against Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff and his wife Susie Wolff, the head of the F1 academy, citing a conflict of interest. The governing body claimed that there were reports of an exchange of information between a team principal and a FOM employee, and sent the matter to the compliance committee.
However, they withdrew the investigation just before the FIA prize-giving ceremony in Baku on Saturday, December 9, stating that there was no wrongdoing discovered.
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The incident did not sit well with many, including Hamilton, who publicly criticised the governing body at the gala. The Brit also allegedly left his third-place trophy at the ceremony, as per Motorsport Magazin.
F1 fans took to social media to give their reactions, with one claiming that Hamilton wanted to achieve a level of petty revenge against FIA:
"This is a level of petty revenge that I wish to attain"
Here are some more reactions on X:
Lewis Hamilton praises Max Verstappen at FIA gala
Lewis Hamilton graciously complimented his rival Max Verstappen at the FIA prize-giving ceremony. Hamilton praised the triple world champion and Red Bull for being the dominant team in 2023 season.
As per Express, Lewis Hamilton congratulated Red Bull and their two drivers for an 'incredible' job:
“Good evening everyone, I just want to wish everyone a big, congratulations on this year. For everyone, it has been a very, very long season and very much looking forward to the winter break. We're working very, very hard to make sure we come back strong next year, I must say a big congratulations to Red Bull, Verstappen, and Checo, they’ve done an incredible job this year.
"Max Verstappen was faultless. Max and all of his team really raised the bar and we have a lot of work to close that gap, but I truly do believe that we can close that gap.”
Lewis Hamilton will now be looking to return to the front of the grid as he seeks to end a victory drought spanning two years.
