Hannah Waddingham appeared to make a loaded comment about Sir Lewis Hamilton at the Formula 1 British Grand Prix at Silverstone on Sunday (9 July).
The Ted Lasso star and lauded Eurovision host referred to the British racing driver as an “eight-time champion”, despite Hamilton having only won the World Championship of Drivers seven times.
In 2021, Hamilton was denied a record-breaking eighth title when race director Michael Masi’s decision to allow a number of lapped drivers to unlap themselves while behind a safety car resulted in rival Max Verstappen pipping Hamilton to the post on the last lap of the last race of the season.
The incident was highly controversial at the time, with Masi ultimately stepping down from his role as a result. An FIA inquiry concluded that Masi’s decisions were made “in good faith” and blamed “human error” for the incident.
During Channel 4’s coverage of last weekend’s race, Waddingham was interviewed by presenter David Coulthard at the site.
“I’ve been binge-watching you! You’ve been making appearances everywhere,” Coulthard remarked, to which the actor responded: “Have you? I know people must be sick of the sight of me, I do apologise.”
She continued: “I’ve waited a long time to be here and am I allowed to say that I’m very much looking forward to seeing Lewis Hamilton, eight-time champion?”
The presenter responded: “You can say whatever you want! I don’t think many people would disagree with that. He’s a legend of the sport.”
Waddingham then went on to offer further praise for the F1 star, describing him as “just phenomenal”.
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Waddingham being interviewed on the tarmac— (Channel 4)
“I hope I get to meet him and give him a little curtsy,” she added.
Her comments didn’t escape the notice of Channel 4 viewers, who praised the star’s veiled dig at the 2021 controversy.
“Nah cause her saying Lewis Hamilton 8 time [world] champion is so good,” one person wrote on Twitter.
“Love her causing chaos,” commented another.
“Hannah Waddingham saying ‘Lewis Hamilton is an 8x champion’ on @C4F1... Being from Wandsworth my London neighbouring borough, I expect nothingless from her to tell it straight!” someone else wrote.
“Hannah causing chaos on an F1 weekend is very on brand ngl,” quipped a fourth.
With seven world titles officially under his belt, Hamilton jointly holds the record for most championship wins, alongside Germany’s Michael Schumaker.
