Lewis Hamilton’s brutal comment aimed at Jack Whitehall during their appearance on The Graham Norton Show left the audience in shock.
The seven-time Formula One champion and the comedian were guests on the BBC show nine years ago, alongside actor Ewan McGregor. Hamilton, 40, was asked by the show’s host whether he usually drives a car away from his life on the track, to which he answered he rarely does.
Whitehall then entered the conversation by jokingly asking: “Can you park, are you good at the whole shebang or just the fast bit?” The racing superstar immediately replied with: “We know that you can’t drive.”
Hamilton’s quip caused the audience to quite noticeably gasp before he took another shot at the television personality by asking him: “How does a man not have a drivers license?” Whitehall has discussed in the past that he does not know how to drive but hit back with a witty remark by saying: “I get picked up by the chicks.”
The pair are set to reunite almost a decade on from their appearance on the show with Whitehall set to host the F1 season launch event on Tuesday. The show, which is called F1 75, will celebrate the 75th anniversary of the racing championship, where Hamilton is set to make his first public appearance for Ferrari.
The Brit will debut for the Italian giants next month in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix. Teaming up with Charles Leclerc is certainly an impressive partnership and one Ferrari chief executive Benedetto Vigna believes will be a fruitful one.
“We aim to compete at the top in both the Formula 1 and endurance championships, with a reinforced team and a clear objective: to win,” he said. “On a brand level, the arrival of Lewis is certainly good for us. It will be a good partnership with Leclerc.”
Given Hamilton’s disappointing qualifying displays last season when up against George Russell at Mercedes, Sky Sports’ Martin Brundle said the F1 icon has no choice but to start off well at Ferrari. “He’s got to do that,” he told Sky Sports News.
“He’s got to use his experience. “There are no excuses at this level for anybody, even the rookies, but you might give the rookies half a season to get their act together, maximum. They will expect somebody like Lewis to have aced the people around him and the car within two or three races, to be honest. Never underestimate Lewis Hamilton.”
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