"Just noticed @jensonbutton unfollowed, thats a shame. After 3 years as teammates, I thought we respected one another but clearly he doesn't."
Lewis then followed this up with:
"Funny thing is, we are STILL teammates! All good tho, I plan on giving this team & fans all I got til I cross the finish line in brazil!!"
So Lewis Hamilton has just accused his team mate Jenson Button of disrespecting him. After three years as team mates, who in public seem to get on well - and given the fact that Lewis is leaving his long term home at McLaren for Mercedes, the first cracks are starting to show.
Jenson Button actually broached this subject on 1 October. In response to F1 journalist Jonathan Noble, suggesting that Jenson had unfollowed Lewis, Jenson tweeted:
Jenson has since deleted that tweet but you can see it on the screenshot below.
Lewis Hamilton's twitter history has been short and quite strange. See this article for details. His history of petulant over-reaction has lost him a few friends in the paddock as well.
McLaren, who are fast falling out of love with Lewis, are bound to put a little bit more of their efforts into Jenson Button's car for the rest of the season. If not the management then the team members themselves who work shoulder to shoulder with the drivers over a race weekend.
Jenson Button was told he was making a foolish move when he arrived at McLaren three years ago. He was told Lewis Hamilton would wipe the floor with him. But that hasn't happened. Jenson has shown his mettle against one of the best drivers in F1. And he has also shown his maturity.
It cannot have escaped Lewis' attention that McLaren, once 'his' team, is now fast becoming Jenson's team and next year, unless Perez unexpectedly dominates, it will become ever more so.
Lewis Hamilton still has five races with McLaren. Unless he learns to show some humility to his team, and his team mate, his reputation will be tarnished in the paddock and amongst the wider F1 community.
Update - Lewis has since tweeted a retraction if not an apology:
"My bad, just found out Jenson never followed me. Don't blame him! Need to be on Twitter more!"
Update - Lewis has since tweeted a retraction if not an apology:
"My bad, just found out Jenson never followed me. Don't blame him! Need to be on Twitter more!"
