Lewis Hamilton has distanced himself from his Formula One team’s partnership deal with Kingspan, an insulation company linked to the Grenfell Tower fire, saying he had nothing to do with the decision.
He also cast doubt on Kingspan branding remaining on his Mercedes car.
Hamilton is competing for Mercedes at the Saudi Arabian grand prix this weekend, and a Kingspan logo appeared on his car for the first time during qualifying on Saturday.
Speaking for the first time about the issue at a press conference after the qualifying session, Hamilton said: “It is not something that I feel I have to speak about publicly,” he said. “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.”
The Mercedes-AMG Petronas team principal, Toto Wolff, apologised to Grenfell survivors and bereaved relatives on Friday, and thanked the campaign group Grenfell United for an offer to meet after its condemnation of the deal with Kingspan.
