Hamilton misses Wimbledon after dress code gaffe

F1 Fanatic Round-up

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In the round-up: Lewis Hamilton was unable to attend the Wimbledon tennis final despite receiving an invitation, as he did not meet the dress code standards.

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Lewis Hamilton refused entry to Wimbledon's Royal Box because he was 'not smart enough' (The Telegraph)

"Despite receiving an invitation to watch the men's singles final from the Royal Box, the Formula One champion missed the match owing to an 'unfortunate misunderstanding regarding the dress code at Wimbledon', according to his spokesman."

Ricciardo: Bring back deterrents! (Crash)

"I don't disagree with the track limits, at least there is a right and a wrong, but I think they need to put a deterrent there, either gravel or more Astroturf."

Williams 'clearly faster' than Ferrari - Smedley (F1i)

"It's the first weekend I think since the start of the season - even though we've been inching closer - where we've been clearly faster than our closest competitor, Ferrari. We were faster in qualifying, we had a similar pace advantage in the race in the dry."

Williams can catch Ferrari - Smedley (Autosport)

"We are trying more and more to put ourselves into a more favourable position as we want to try and get second position in the championship - that is our target now."

How Williams blew chance to win British GP (BBC)

"I can't help but feel they should have ordered Massa to let Bottas through into the lead."

Tweets and pictures

Wimbledon. 🇬🇧

A photo posted by Lewis Hamilton (@lewishamilton) on

Comment of the day

We had possibly the funniest selection of comments ever for a Caption Competition last weekend, which made picking a winner a difficult but highly enjoyable task. In the end I liked this from @Scalextric best:

“Why do we pay for this useless F1 timing app?”

Thanks to everybody who joined in and a special mention to @danieljaksa, @mattypf1, @zedd, @illusive and Cyberaxiom (@dave-m) for their excellent contributions.

From the forum

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On this day in F1

Alan Jones won the British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch on this day in 1980 after the two Ligier drivers suffered wheel failures.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DP7wVtSx8EQ

Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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143 comments on “Hamilton misses Wimbledon after dress code gaffe”

  1. I will be in Hungary to watch Ferrari beating not only Williams, but also Mercedes :D :D

    1. You’ve already bought a ticket for 2017?

      1. Never stop believing in hope because miracles happen everyday :)

      2. @philipgb: what do you think now?

        1. I’m too busy cleaning egg off my face to think about it @malik

          1. @philipgb: The most important thing is that we watched a great race :D

    2. I’ll be there too!

    3. Last year, it took a fire, a spin, and a failing fuel pump to stop Hamilton from winning in Hungary.

      You really think he’ll be that unlucky two years in a row?

      1. Don’t forget a bad strategy too. Because he could still have won it if the pitted him for new tyres when Rosberg was behind him.

  2. Heh, unfortunate wording on that Telegraph title.

    It’s funny we were discussing what Bernie would do with Wimbledon if he’d bought it? Well, pawning the royal box out to celebrities seems like something he would do…

    1. The celebrities in the Royal Box are there for the satisfaction of the sponsors not because they paid.

    2. Or “really glamourous ladies”…

  3. Lewis not knowing how to dress for Wimbledon (or having one of his entourage tell him) is a perfect example of how he rubs people the wrong way and why they don’t like him. Nouveau riche.

    1. I’m confused

      What has that comment got to do with him having no class or people not liking him?
      What happened today seemed a very human thing?
      Really the person showing a lack of class is yourself

      1. Lewis posted a picture that include the Guide for Royal Box Guests. If he had read it, he would have dressed appropriately.
        When I was invited to the Mercedes VIP Loge at the Montreal race last year, I made sure to ask if there was a dress code, just in case.

        1. If you remember, how much time it took for Lewis to read his new contract, then it shouldn’t surprise you that he didn’t have enough time to read the royal box guests guide.

          1. LOL, spot on!!

          2. +1 mate, =))

          3. I think it’s ironic that just a few days after (quiet reasonably) making the point that he’s his own man and doesn’t compare himself to past champions, Hamilton goes and does exactly the sort of thing that made James Hunt such a hero to many.

          4. If he read his contract like his invite he may find he is now on minimum wage.

        2. Indeed. From the picture, he looks well dressed to me, way better than his usual attire. I really don’t get @mtlracer “perfect example of how he rubs people the wrong way and why they don’t like him”…

      2. tgu (@thegrapeunwashed)
        13th July 2015, 8:56

        Well said Neil.

    2. Being attired in a manner acceptable to Western aristocracy has nothing to do with the best meaning of “class”. In fact, this episode has increased my affinity for Lewis. While he certainly has the financial chops, his mindset is clearly not yet (and hopefully never will be) elitist but rather still among us normal working folks from whence he came. I remember the time as a young professional I arrived at an upscale restaurant not knowing that they required a jacket, and had to borrow one from the assortment they had on reserve. It’s sport, two gladiators grinding and sweating it out, not the symphony! Lewis just became my hero.

      1. @slowhands I agree, if they are that up themselves to be enforcing the dress code so strictly, shouldn’t they have some spare ties and jackets so as not to embarrass themselves?

        1. Well, they do sell ties and jackets right on site so..

        2. Apparently he was offered a jacket & tie but declined… Good on him, I say. the Radio 4 joke this morning was that he was “in the wrong gear” (BOOM) :)

      2. Luke Harrison
        13th July 2015, 21:38

        “While he certainly has the financial chops, his mindset is clearly not yet (and hopefully never will be) elitist but rather still among us normal working folks from whence he came. ”

        Couldn’t disagree more. I think the fact he didn’t wear Jacket and Tie showed exactly that he wants to be elitist.

        I find myself in a position where i’d probably never be invited to sit in the Royal Box at Wimbledon, or any event, but if i was, i’d read the invite and dress appropriately

        Maybe someone should introduce him to a similar concept rather then showing him pictures of Pharrel Williams and constantly saying #fashion to him

    3. @mtlracer
      The dress code for players at Wimbledon is one of the oldest and most strict in Tennis, even so there are stories of players having to go out and get the correct kit so that they can play most years.
      It’s not just novices either, Last year one of the Williams sisters brought the wrong colour bras, and she’s played there many times.

      Everyone makes mistake.

      And in Lewis’s defence, dress codes don’t normally apply to VIP’s. When I was a student I was working for an events company bar tending at events like this and the big stars often turned up to black tie events in jeans or other casual clothes. It’s not just sportsmen either, I was once working at a Polo match with lots of Monarch’s and other dignitaries in their very fine clothes and an almost comically stereotypical Texan turned up wearing cowboy boots and other items that didn’t comply with the dress code, but he got away with it as he was someone big in American horse breeding.

      1. @beneboy I think they are trying to cling on to the tradition by re-enforcing it more than they have been in the recent past. There was a controversy this year about a non-white part of a bra strap being seen for instance.. this is like Grosjean’s penalty at Hungary level of crazy.

    4. Roger Federer has fallen foul of the Wimbledon dress code before, does that mean that the 7-time Wimbledon champion is lacking in class too? Maybe he should have got one of his entourage to read it for him. Perhaps he should have asked before, just in case.

      1. Several reasons why this is not the same thing:

        1) Federer’s infringement was a matter of interpretation of what counts as “almost” all white. Hamilton’s outfit did not “almost” feature a tie by any stretch of the imagination.
        2) There’s no suggestion that even if the All England Club had made the decision as Federer was walking onto court, he couldn’t or wouldn’t have fished out some alternatives from somewhere, rather than opt out and go home (granted he had more at stake than Hamilton)
        3) It’s only fair that the athletes have more leeway in this than the spectators. The prestige of the Wimbledon tournament rides on the calibre of players like Federer. Conversely, the All England Club owe Hamilton nothing. F1 might not have quite such an equivalent point of etiquette, but if there were, it would be fair to have a similarly higher expectation of Federer as a guest than that of a driver in their home environment.

    5. Nouveau riche? Is that supposed to be a bad thing? At least he can say he worked for and earned his money by his own merit. I’d take Lewis over most of the pretentious “old money” farts that dress the part.

      1. Yeah. I get the impression that for some people how you were born is more important than how you live. Weird. I thought that stuff was relegated to Downton Abbey re-runs now. Is that still a thing—calling people “nouveau riche, new money, jumped-up”? Help me out, because I don’t really hang out at country clubs and garden parties.

        1. I don’t think that “nouveau riche” has anything to do with the actual money, it’s supposedly more to do with the ostentatious usage of said wealth which “old money” supposedly doesn’t do.

          I’m not sure how accurate that is.

          1. tgu (@thegrapeunwashed)
            13th July 2015, 21:53

            Spot on. But you’d think @mtlracer would need to be vieux riche to even think of sneering at nouveau riche: I suspect he’s more likely a pseud wanting to appear vieux riche than the real thing – the real thing is few and far between. I’ve much more sympathy for Hamilton than for a pseud trying to elbow his way into a club to which he doesn’t belong.

    6. It is very obvious to me that it’s not Hamilton’s fault, but his PR people’s (and he has at least one in a spokesperson).

      Hamilton dresses quite nicely and stylish most of the time, so I think he’d have no problem of wearing a tie if needed. Also, I bet he receives tons of invitations all the time, and it’s easy for him to miss some specific rules, especially if he has more plans for the day.

      So his entourage should have told him about the dress code and made sure he understand how strict the rules are.

      1. Not everybody has PR people to baby them through life. Most people can attend and comply with dress code at functions such as weddings, funerals, VIP areas etc without someone holding their hand.

        1. Not everyone is a multiple F1 champion either. So I’d cut him some slack when it comes to relying on PR people handling his appointments. Also, I’ve never heard of Hamilton attending funerals dressed inappropriately, so let’s not go overboard with this, and paint him as some kind of barbaric idiot.

    7. It’s actually a perfect example that no matter what he says or does some people will always be out to criticise him. He made a mistake, big deal.

    8. Give the guy a break on his fashion.
      While i personally don’t think the way he dresses “helps” him, I would not say he showed lack of class in this instance; simply he should have read the guidelines for this occasion.
      We know Wimbledon is “stiff”, one year they asked played to change for being too colorful.

      That being said, that colorful shirt might have been a bit too much anywhere :)

    9. I think it’s funny how people love piling on the hate when it comes to issues of “rejection”. He’s like a scape goat for so many people’s issues dealing with social ostracism, it’s quite pathetic actually. I like the guy, and I think he knows how to think and do for himself, some people don’t get that though… Some people don’t want to get that.

      1. tgu (@thegrapeunwashed)
        13th July 2015, 22:05

        +1. We’re chalk and cheese, but I empathise with the route he’s taken through life: a fantastic father and his own talent have set him on an amazing journey. He should just enjoy it, rather than fretting over silly dress codes. Of course he should have worn the right clothing, but how much time does he have for small print? The demands on top drivers are horrendous.

        I avoid the comments section of the Telegraph when reading articles about Hamilton because it always seems filled with the same kind of people – a toxic mix of snobbery, race hate and envy.

  4. money can’t buy you class

    1. Being able to put a piece of cloth around your neck suddenly buys you class?

      1. Suddenly? Whether you think it’s right or not, it basically does, and kind of always has.

        1. Cuts off the flow of oxygen to the brain, makes you stupid.

          ;)

      2. Lewis is perfectly capable of being classy. Here’s proof.

        I’m a Lewis fan and think he’s great for the sport, but find myself incapable of looking at that photo without laughing.

        1. You call that classy ???

          Rosberg yes, Lewis… nope!

          1. No, sorry– Lewis has a tie, and is therefore suitable to sit in the royal box.

            Nico has no tie, and thus must sit with the lesser beings.

            Personally, I thought Lewis presented a better image without the tie than Benedict did *with* the tie. But that might just be me.

            … I wonder what the Wimbledon people would say about a fish tie?

        2. … I have no words …

        3. What’s wrong with Hamilton? wow
          Surely he didn’t look at the mirror….

        4. Hahah this picture has literally made my day. I am not a Lewis fan (although I think he is a fantastic driver) and I get endless amusement out of how often he turns up to things looking totally ridiculous like this. Thank you sir!

        5. tgu (@thegrapeunwashed)
          13th July 2015, 22:07

          OK I laughed.. shame the people responding didn’t read your post. I’m a Hamilton fan too, but that was pretty hilarious!

      3. The Blade Runner (@)
        13th July 2015, 8:34

        More so than a load of chains and a mid-Atlantic accent… especially when you’re actually a middle class lad from Stevenage!

        1. tgu (@thegrapeunwashed)
          13th July 2015, 22:09

          Of course. His dad worked three jobs at a time to fund Lewis’ racing career because they were such a middle class family.

    2. Oh please! The fact that is even a story is amazing to me, he didn’t wear the correct clothing for the upper nose elite of Tennis and all of a sudden he has no class. No real class is dedicating his private time to help children’s charities and donating a lot of money to those charities in a discrete way. That’s real class, not judged by some tabloid story drummed up to get some advertising money in the bank.

      Don’t like Hamilton? Fine, that’s your right but whatever you may think of his driving, attitude, lifestyle or clothing saying he doesn’t have any class, well that’s just wrong.

      Big picture people.

      1. “discrete way” – if the way was discrete you wouldn’t have known about it unless you have had some inside knowledge…

        1. There is a thing called charity press releases. They don’t come from Lewis himself.

          He shares a lot of things on social media with his fans, writing checks for charity isn’t on of them.

          1. Yeah. “Charity press release” is the opposite of “discrete”. I don’t actually have a problem with famous people making charity without being discrete. I’m just pointing out the fact that when there’s a press release is involved, there is no being discrete.

          2. That would be the charity not being discreet not Lewis himself, unless he put a press release himself saying I donated X amount to this charity.

      2. Fro all the people out there I wouldn’t use “discrete” to describe Lewis.

        1. Why? Is he continuous?

          (You all mean “discreet.”)

        2. @toxic When it comes to certain parts of his life he is discreet, I never said he was discreet as a whole.

    3. or taste :-P

    4. @Johanness – true, but a lack of money can’t buy you class either.
      So the question is: Do you think you have more “class” than Lewis Hamilton? Because i am sure you don’t have as much money as he does.

      1. I’d have enough class to wear the correct garb to a time-honoured event. A parrot would know as much

        1. Yeah, I don’t think comparing to yourself as a parrot – an animal notorious for repeating what it’s been told with no idea of the true meaning – is quite the image you were going for?

          Or maybe you were – you would wear a suit because you had been told to, with no idea about why men wear suits, why the fashion evolved and why Wimboldon expects it. Just mindlessly follow the masses, with little thought to what you are communicating to the world.

          ;)

  5. Williams weren’t winning that race even if Bottas had gone through. Hamilton finished over 36 seconds ahead of Massa, so even if Bottas had been let through after the safety car he’d have needed to be about 3 seconds a lap quicker up to the first pitstop to have had that gap. And that’s not even considering how much faster Massa was in the wet conditions. If Bottas had been allowed through then once the wet conditions hit later on Massa would have been back on him.

    With the weather conditions that came 3rd was always going to be the best position and they lost that through conservative pit stops not team orders.

    1. Allan McNish was talking to BBC Sport’s Andrew Benson

      You’d think Allan would know better than that.

    2. McNish did acknowledge at the end of the article that regardless of what Williams would have done they more than likely would not have won. What he was saying was that Williams did not take the opportunity to maximise their advantage when they were ahead and there was still the possibility that it would remain dry for the whole race. If the rain had not fallen and Massa was ordered to let Bottas past then they might well have won.

    3. “With the weather conditions that came 3rd was always going to be the best position and they lost that through conservative pit stops not team orders.”
      No, they lost 3rd because they were slow. It had nothing to the with their pit stops. I mean, even if they pitted the same lap Hamilton and Vettel did, they would have still finished off-podium. Vettel was just as fast as a Merc from the moment it started to rain.
      Of course if you didn’t mean they lost 1st or 2nd through conservative pit stops, as long as the rain didn’t hit.

    4. @philipgb You talking with the benefit of hindsight. But consider this, if Williams let Bottas pass and he got at least 5s advantage to Massa, maybe Williams could cover Mercedes pitstop better and still ahead at 2nd stint. That will put Rosberg right behind Hamilton and they both could battle it themselves and may drastically change the front finishers order, rain or no rain.

      The point is, without benefit of hindsight, at that moment the most advantageous move for Williams is to let Bottas pass and build a gap, or tell Bottas to try and hold the Mercedes while Massa build a gap. Because Bottas claimed to be faster and Massa did lapped pretty slow in option tires, so they should let Bottas pass (this is from pure strategic viewpoint). A worse but similar situation is when Mercedes called Hamilton to pit in Monaco. Without benefit of hindsight many people also know its the wrong move at that time.

    5. If you look at how other teams operate, they have one car, usually the faster one, in front, and the second car, usually the slightly slower one, behind the faster one. They then use the second car to drive fast enough so they can’t be overtaken, but slow enough to impede the cars behind from catching up to the front car. The reason is to create a buffer between the front car and the cars behind the second one. They do this so after the tyre changes the front car is still in front, and if they have to sacrifice the car running second, then so be it.
      By Williams running both cars in close proximity it was obvious that after the tyre change round Mercedes would have at gained two positions in the race. Then the rain came … and after all the confusion Massa was still in front of Bottas, but ahead of him … wasn’t a podium.
      Yes, I concede, Bottas should have been creating a gap between himself and Massa because Massa was the front car, but maybe Massa could have done an equally good job as Bottas should have been doing in second, and if Bottas was in front then I reckon he’d have done a better job being in front than Massa was doing. Massa, as far as I can tell, was happy with beating Bottas, so I guess he was happy with the end result. I would have thought beating at least Rosberg, if not both Mercedes cars would have been a better achievement.
      Before it rained it looked like Massa would end up on the podium as a third, having sacrificed first and second to Mercedes. If he had let Bottas through then he might have got a second, although it was more likely he’d have got a fourth, but at least Bottas would have had a chance of first.

      1. Massa, as far as I can tell, was happy with beating Bottas, so I guess he was happy with the end result. I would have thought beating at least Rosberg, if not both Mercedes cars would have been a better achievement.

        Any solid evidence? I think you are too subjective.

        “It is a frustrating result” http://www.williamsf1.com/racing/news/britishgprace
        “It was really frustrating to lose a podium like that” http://www.formula1.com/content/fom-website/en/latest/headlines/2015/7/race-slipped-through-williams-hands—massa.html

        1. I agree with you Park.

      2. The amount of “ifs” destroy your argument.
        But in particular this paragraph:

        … and if Bottas was in front then I reckon he’d have done a better job being in front than Massa was doing. Massa, as far as I can tell, was happy with beating Bottas, so I guess he was happy with the end result.

        I have no idea where you find base to say this, really. Massa qualified better than Bottas and started better than Bottas, so he *was* going a better job. The fact that Bottas were unable to overtake him even with the DRS shows that. Your idea that Massa was just happy defeating Bottas is just unsustainable, I can´t see how can you prove that.
        In any case, I can understand that you or any other fan don´t like Massa. But just with base on that suggest that Bottas would be able to open a gap so big that the Mercedes would be unable to overcome is a big stretch. And I mean BIG. Bottas said to the pit that his tyres were gone on lap 11. How do you think he would open a gap to the Mercedes? Just makes no sense. Is just baseless speculation.

        1. My thanks for your excellent critique. I will endeavor to write to a higher standard.

    6. No, they would not have won because they were too slow in the rain; but they would have had a much better chance had they pit-ed one car before the mercs; they had all the time in the world from lap 14 (when Ferrari had pitted both their cars) to lap 22.
      That was the tactical mistake this week. The were always very sluggish in changing the plan during the race.
      Patrick Head once admitted (in the early 90s) that strategy was their week spot; but it was hidden by having a very fast car vs the competition; until master Ross Brown cam along with a decent car and driver, then the shortcomings started showing.

  6. With all respect, I fail to see how this is worthy of a headline for the roundup when it has little relevance to F1 compared to most other articles. This is just going to stir things up again.

    1. Well it’s a little sad that Lewis (or his PR team) took the time and effort to photograph and broadcast the information pack he was sent but failed to take the time and effort to read it. And, Lewis Hamilton is the current face of F1.

    2. It’s on the front page of several major (non motorsport) news websites, unlike every other article linked here. It will be one of the biggest sports related stories in the British media today.

      Keith would be doing a bad job if he’d picked any other article as the lead given that he’s trying to attract as many people to the site as possible, and this is clearly the biggest F1 story of the day.

      1. It will be one of the biggest sports related stories in the British media today.

        And that just shows you everything that is wrong with the British Media. When what clothes Hamilton puts on his back his back is such a massive story.

        Keith would be doing a bad job if he’d picked any other article as the lead given that he’s trying to attract as many people to the site as possible, and this is clearly the biggest F1 story of the day.

        This site is fantastic, Keith does an amazing job on providing content and analysis of F1, but this isn’t an F1 story, it’s not even a story. It’s tabloid filler at best.

        1. but this isn’t an F1 story, it’s not even a story. It’s tabloid filler at best.

          But someone following a link to it on Facebook or whatever could find themselves here for the 1st time, and while they may have followed a link about this fluff they’ll get to find one of the best sports blogs on the net.
          Many years ago I followed just a link about a jokey article on some little blog I’d never heard of, I’ve been back here most days ever since.

        2. Well you @woodyd91 may not class it an F1 story, but it is about something that actually happened to the current F1 WDChampion and championship leader, the rest of the stories are self-promoting opinion pieces or old-hat analysis/speculation. Obviously there are days like today with very little F1 news to report but Keith still manages to find a few F1 related articles to include in the round-up for those that wish to read them, there is no compulsion for you to do so.

          1. @hohum The only part of that “story” that relates to F1 was that is had the name Lewis Hamilton in it, would taking a picture of Hamilton buying a coffee be an F1 story? Nope. It’s the kind of story you would find on tabloid news websites.

          2. @woodyd91 So it will become a news if he arrived in the W06? Or maybe carried the British GP trophy with him? To include more F1 relevance to the news.

          3. @evered7 Maybe if he drove onto the court in the middle of the game and started doing burnouts and donuts holding a poster for the Hungarian GP then yep.

    3. shame on you @keithcollantine! how could you include the articles you wanted on your own site!

      What is your problem guys?! Its on all the F1 sites why should Keith not include it? You lot complain about the content but I bet most of you dont even donate to F1Fanatic. If you want your F1 roundup without anything about the drivers off track then by all means start your own website!

      1. Stefan well said every F1 site going has this story about the fashion faux pas. Thing is Lewis attended Wimbledon a couple of years or so ago with David Beckham and his then manager Simon Fuller properly attired. Does he believe he is now above the rules ?

    4. @strontium That’s a fair point, and one I spent a while thinking about while putting the round-up together. It is definitely a more ‘soft news’ angle than I normally like. However – as is often the case when there’s a bit of a gap between races (especially during the off-season) the lack of any significantly more compelling stories meant I chose to put this one top. And in the context of Bernie Ecclestone recently talking about the value of Hamilton as a champion because of his ‘star power’ compared to the likes of Vettel and Rosberg, I do think it is relevant.

      1. His star power reminds me of the likes of Paris Hilton. Not that he’s anything like Hilton, just the way he gains attention for saying or doing “wrong” things…

      2. @KeithCollantine We need to know what the media writes about F1 and how the world sees our sport even if it is not something that we as hardcore fans particularly care about. So I think you were right to include this article in the round-up and I also think that it is good to have a different kind of headline, too (after all, the likes of Ecclestone and Horner spend enough time in the spotlight anyway).

      3. I think the story is indeed a very good example of what BE mentioned when he said Hamilton was a good champion for F1, its a “big” story about one of hour F1 stars that will possibly get read outside of the motorsport bubble.

        That Hamilton underestimated the degree by which they adhere to formal dress in Wimbledon this year is maybe not too surprising when taking in account the numerous small issues the actual tennis players had with adhering to the “strictly white” on the courts. And good on him to refuse to put a tie on the shirt, as it would clearly ruin the outfit!

  7. Ooh, my second caption contest winner, thanks Kieth!

  8. Never mind the “class”, it is “common sense”. It’s absurd that you don’t make sure to learn the proper dress code when you go to watch a tennis match final in the royal box. This has nothing to do with not being born to a rich family like Nico Rosberg was, there is school, there are books, there is the Internet, and Hamilton likes this type of life style. It’s not like he’s living in a Swiss farm with his girlfriend and kid. You can be sure that Sebastian Vettel would have read the “Guide for Royal Box Guests” booklet he was given, since he also reads the “Event Notes” before the race unlike Lewis.

    1. Dressing up in an eloberate manner so you fit in is just so pretentious. I hope he did it on purpose.

      1. Yeah, I hate to be told how to dress to. Attendance is based on conformity.

        After advertising his invitation this was doubly embarrassing.

        A shame too, that looked like a loud and proud combo.

      2. I think it’s seen as pretentious if you have a chip on your shoulders. Dress code is not exactly “uniform” or doesn’t have to be related to “money”. I think no one needs to be told to wear proper clothes when they are leaving the house. But if you cannot manage it on your own people will remind you how to dress properly. Of course, if you want to stick like a sore thumb… your choice. Maybe they should have just let him in.

        1. it is pretentious, and it has a lot to do with authority, and conformity. This really is a “story” in every sense of the word. It’s a non issue for me, but I do love reading some of the comments left by some people, while trying not to waste too much of my time. There is dressing the part, and then there is being good and living a healthy life, and not wanting to hurt other people. I think Lewis is too far removed from other people’s expectations and suffering to be tolerable, he highlights the “tragedy of the common-ers”. A villain of sorts for those who need absolutely, to fit in.

  9. Thanks for the special mention @keithcollantine

    1. Same here, thanks Keith.

  10. On my way to Wimbledon to watch the final! Honoured to have been invited to watch the men’s finals from the Royal Box!

    Indeed. In fact, it was such an honour he didn’t even bother to read it.

  11. Once again Hamilton single handily wins the internet, I do not know how he does it, first for forgetting Victorian table manors and now for this. I agree with him on both points really, good grieve the guy is actually a normal human being, did you see the weather in that final? Boiling. I wouldn’t turn up in black and tie, and I would have made a argument out of it if I got turned away, which would have made all the papers. Seriously dress codes for watching a game of Tennis? Is Vicky still empress of India?

    Not that im surprised by Wimbledon. Seems that Tennis is the only sport to stoop lower than F1 when it comes to catering celebrities. We see more pictures of the crowd than we do of the ball!

    And admit it guy’s you are only hating on Hamilton because its Hamilton I know how this works. Even if he does look a bit of a plonker on Instagram.

    1. I get the impression that people following F1 are not regular tennis followers. At least the people on this site…

  12. Three things that got me angry today:
    1. Wimbledon really take this dress code thing too far. It’s not that he turned up wearing undies or something.
    2. Hamilton should know better, but really, that’s a small thing.
    3. Why is this being covered in the F1Fanatic roundup?? This shouldn’t be a gossip site!

    1. 1. It’s the Royal Box. The Duke of Kent might be in there. Show a bit of respect.
      2. Agreed on the first part, but is he completely unaware of the rules relating to Wimbledon? Has he never seen people sitting in the Royal Box before? Did his PR not think to check?
      3. Lewis Hamilton is a Formula 1 driver. This is a Formula 1 site.

      1. @jules-winfield I don’t think this site covered Alonso’s or Raikkonen’s divorce, for one. And quite rightly too.

        1. I think both were mentioned in the roundup @wsrgo.

          1. @bascb If so, that’s stupid. Next thing you know, it’ll be news on the roundup when one of them gets a new tattoo.

          2. I think getting a divorce is something quite a bit different from just another tattoo @wsrgo. Both Kimi and Alonso have had 1 divorce, its not as if they do that regularly.

            And as far as I remember, wasn’t it also tied in with Alonso moving back to spain? Or away from Spain.

      2. @jules-winfield

        You are not serious about Duke of Kent might be there comment? We do live in a different world now?

        But i do agree with you that he/his PR team should have told him about the rules. Unless he did it intentionally, which I am more inclined to.

      3. Seriously we should show respect because someone was born a rich little entitle with a Duke title?

  13. What’s is really hilarious is that people are actually saying that this is not an F1 story and it doesn’t really matter what he wore or didn’t wear, when the same people laud Hamilton for being ‘blockbuster’. They were a few blockbuster names at Wimbledon none less that Sherlock himself, Benedict Cumberbatch and I doubt he wore what Hamilton was wearing. He also looked blockbuster doing it, Hamilton though. . .

  14. Neil (@neilosjames)
    13th July 2015, 4:47

    Middle of the day, in London… couldn’t he have just legged it to a shop and bought a jacket and tie?

    1. not as fast as a W06

  15. You just know that if the public schoolboy James Hunt had rocked up at Wimbledon in jeans with a blonde on one arm and a joint in his mouth, he’d be regarded as a hero. Same probably goes if Kimi did the same. But Hamilton? Wow, there’s something about him that really exercises a certain type …

    Amazing to see that this story is the front page splash in the UK’s biggest-selling newspaper today. What is it about Brits that make us turn on those of us who prove to be really gifted and successful?

    1. Do you know of any instance where that has happened? I mean, someone dressed like Hamilton usually does and be allowed to sit in the ‘Royal box’?

      If not, lets not discuss hypothetical scenarios. And just because he is gifted/successful, doesn’t mean he is above traditions. Most of them seated in the box were/are successful or more successful than Hamilton but still stuck to the code.

      1. I’m talking about how some non-conformists will be lionised for turning up at Wimbledon dressed how they please, while someone like Hamilton gets ridiculed for being refused entry. Interesting, isn’t it?

        And please tell me how Prince Andrew, or any of his other relatives in the “royal” box, can be regarded as being more gifted or successful. Not even the most ardent monarchist could claim that about Air Miles Andy. His mum, in fact, probably paid for his suit …

        1. Luke Harrison
          13th July 2015, 21:52

          “please tell me how Prince Andrew, or any of his other relatives in the “royal” box,”

          Tell me how Benedict Cumberbatch (to name just one person in the box, at the final) is related to the royal family…

      2. Er, @evered7, someone dressed like Hamilton, without a tie, has not sat in the Royal Box by definition.

        I’d say most of those who were in the box with their ties are a good deal LESS successful than him, but as for ‘being allowed to’ sit in the Royal Box – the All England Club wanted him there to help promote their event, and he was doing his bit for them. But they are too shallow to understand that part of his fame is that he doesn’t – omg – wear a tie.

        It’s a Wimbledon gaffe really. Their heads are deep up their own backsides, tripping their egos with enforcing an entirely pointless rule. Of course “All England Club Gaffe” would be even more obviously irrelevant, and pretty hopeless as clickbait since they don’t have the little army of desperate denigrators :)

        1. but they are too shallow to understand that part of his fame is that he doesn’t – omg – wear a tie.

          I thought Hamilton was famous for driving a fast (if not the fastest) car and winning two championships with it. Never knew he was actually famous for his dress sense. He was famous all right! But not in the way one would want to. Atleast going by the reaction in this crowd whenever we see tweets/instagram posts from his end :)

          I don’t want to go into how the club runs Wimbledon. They have a code in place and it is to be followed. If anything, the only ego in display was that of Hamilton thinking he can do as he pleases.

          I said ‘most’ not all. So obviously there will be a few who are less successful than him. But the point about being successful was brought about by the initial poster. I am merely replying to it saying he is not the only successful one out there.

          1. Hamilton is famous for a mix of things @evered7, among them being a cultural anomaly in a predominantly white middle-class arena. So to invite him, to help promote an event, and then turn him away for not wearing a tie is exceedingly shallow and stupid.

            And of course the dress code is a complete anachronism and one of those rules that is there for the egocentric pleasure certain people derive from enforcing it. Plus a cultural thing of course, designed to exclude people like … this one they just invited. Oooops.

          2. @lockup is this a refined version of the Ali G comment from Hamilton? Playing the race card? What does him being part black have to do with him being expelled from the arena.

            If only he took time to read the instructions instead of posting pics on Instagram, this could have all been avoided.

            As such Wimbledon needs no introduction. It is plenty popular and will remain to be so. Maybe Hamilton takes pleasure in being wayward in everything he does and just got told that this is no Mercedes Garage.

          3. That dress code is obviously a cultural thing @evered7. And obviously entirely foolish.

    2. I do doubt Kimi would have bothered to go anywhere near Wimbledon even if invited… Hunt might have, and if he had, it could have been half drunk and without a tie. He might have even given the bouncer a fight, but that´s probably too clichee.
      The thing is, people do imagine Hamilton to be rather embarrassed at that very moment, looking down, maybe blushing a bit. He is perceived as trying to fit in but failing rather than not trying to fit in in the first place. As to why this perception is how it is, I´ll leave that open…

  16. So, this is Tennisfanatic.co.uk now?

  17. Mercedes gambled, and it paid off.
    Actually, Lewis didn’t really have the enough gap to Perez.

    The key was that Lewis’ pit stop was too quick(2.4s)!
    If the stop was 2.7s or longer, he would be certainly behind Perez in Turn3, then if HAM couldn’t overtake PER before Turn7, the undercut would fail.
    If the stop was 3.3s or longer, he would be around 0.7s behind Perez before the first DRS zone, I suspect the undercut would fail too. Massa would still be P1, Bottas P2.

    So Williams did have points not to stop at Lap19.

  18. Hahahhha Lewis, so funny. Fast, very fast, very very very super fast but zero class. or maybe a little… he wasn’t wearing his Rotax engine gold chain this time and he wasn’t carrying his Dolby Subwoofer with himself? Well, if he doesn’t know these basic stuff, at least his mentors should have told him. And his Queen just told him he needs some manners. Lewis, Lewis:)

      1. Good one mate:) Hilarious! That’s why probably the man doesn’t count much…

  19. Good on you Lewis. Show them up for how backwards they are. As far as I’m aware, Lewis was very smart. Which is all that should count. But because he did not wear a tie? pfftt

  20. Over the weekend, I ended up watching the FIA official reviews of 1998, 1999 and 2000. While they were noticably poor in the quality of videos, the lack of different camera angles, they had a few different things which I think should be added in today’s races and reviews too.
    There were countless shots of the team cheering looking at the camera whenever the driver made an important overtake. There were shots of Jean Todt and Ron Dennis walking in the pitlane talking to Peter Sauber and Eddie Jordan trying to convince them to not hold up the leading Ferrari and Mclaren drivers. There were shots of Schumacher barging into Mclaren motorhome accusing Coulthard of purposely crashing into him. Drivers celebrated with vigor after the race with their teams hugging each and everyone as much as they can over the fence. There were characters everywhere. Everyone had a personality and their emotions showed on track.

    Today, all team principals just sit at their seats. The closest we come to see any emotion is when BBC shows a shot of Christian Horner moving his leg up and down in a continuous fashion showing obvious tension. The teams don’t care for any overtake (probably because it is just a DRS one). Hamilton and Rosberg just give a passing handshake to their crew after the race, no hugs, no pats on the back.

    This is something that should be looked into. Instead of making the “show” better by altering the racing, the “show” can be made better if the F1 drivers and teams showed more emotion on camera.

  21. Their club, their rules.

    How many people defending Hamilton would invite someone to their party who didn’t conform to their rules of behaviour?

    1. Dress and behaviour are not the same thing.

      1. Well said

  22. Hilarious that this article has over a hundred comments, while the one above, the one thats actually about Formula 1, is struggling to reach double digits.

    These articles really do make some people foam at the mouth, you can really imagine them pounding at the keyboard, using it as a perfect opportunity to smash Hamilton. Despite the fact that they too cannot stand the royals and their silly traditions.

  23. “I don’t disagree with the track limits, at least there is a right and a wrong, but I think they need to put a deterrent there, either gravel or more Astroturf.”

    There is a white line which you are not allowed to cross with all 4 wheels. It’s really not that difficult to comprehend and most drivers are able to cope with this.

  24. The Williams’s speed was very good, but I don’t think they can get through this speed.

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