Aditya ChaudhuriFormula One champion distances himself from the controversial sponsorship deal.
Following Mercedes‘ controversial sponsorship deal with insulation company Kingspan, which was involved in the Grenfell Tower fire, Mercedes’ talisman Lewis Hamilton has stated that he had nothing to do with the team’s decision, distancing himself from the partnership.
Hamilton, who had previously put out a statement in support of the Grenfell survivors, was called out by multiple human rights groups following his team’s sponsorship.
Commenting about the partnership, Hamilton stated:
“It is not something that I feel I have to speak about publicly. I had nothing to do with the team signing any of the sponsors. Tommy [Hilfiger] was the only one I probably brought to the team.
“It was news to me when I heard the things that have happened this week and I was very aware and watching closely all the families affected by what happened there. We know there has been a huge outcry and an amazing amount of support by people in the community around there.
“It is really nothing to do with me and I know Toto [Wolff] is sorting it.”
Hamilton also cast doubts about the logo appearing on his Mercedes W12, stating:
“Unfortunately my name is associated with it because it has been on my car, but whether that remains the same, we will see.”
Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff had earlier sent out an apology to the Grenfell survivors following the outrage about the partnership and even offered to meet the Grenfell United and stated that “he would want to meet them, learn and understand better.”
The UK’s housing secretary, Michael Gove, also spoke about the sponsorship deal last Thursday, stating that the government could work around the sponsorship deals for the teams if Mercedes didn’t terminate their partnership with Kingspan.
Although there has been massive public outrage, Kingspan still maintains that it played no role in the design of the cladding system on Grenfell Tower, where its K15 product constituted approximately 5% of the insulation and was used as a substitute product without its knowledge in a system that was not compliant with the building’s regulations.
The company also spoke about its new partnership with the Formula One reigning champions and how it reflected both parties’ sustainability goals.
Hamilton, meanwhile, is currently preparing for the final race of the ongoing F1 season.
