Two weeks after criticism of his behavior during the drivers’ news conference in Japan sparked a feud with some media, the Mercedes driver welcomed all questions at the U.S. Grand Prix with an eye toward poking fun at his critics.
Drivers are rarely asked to attend the Thursday news conference in consecutive weeks. Hamilton served notice as soon he arrived that he would own the next 40 minutes when he placed his phone on the desk in front of him .
“It’s a good picture. You’re all in it,” Hamilton said.
Grosjean laughed about playing Hamilton’s photographer.
“I took a picture with a brand I’m not allowed to touch because I’m a Microsoft ambassador. I may get in trouble for that,” Grosjean said
Hamilton took the bulk of the questions during the news conference which ranged from his chances of catching teammate Nico Rosberg for the season championship — he trails by 33 points with four races left — to blocking some reporters from his social media accounts.
Hamilton, who is very active on several social media platforms said, “I don’t actually manage every part of my social media.”
“I have a couple of other people that do. My general approach is, if you see something, if you see someone generally talking smack, then you kind of cut it,” Hamilton said. “I don’t really know who has been blocked … I think it’s a lot of people. It wasn’t just media … It was a blocking spree.”