Formula 1 take thinly-veiled swipe at Lewis Hamilton after British Grand Prix event snub

He decided to go on holiday instead of attending the event in London

Hamilton is on a two-day break in Greece (Getty)

Formula 1 has aimed a thinly-veiled dig at Lewis Hamilton after the triple world champion decided against attending Wednesday night’s parade through London ahead of this weekend’s British Grand Prix.

Hamilton had been expected to be one of the big names on show as F1 put on a demonstration run in the build-up to this weekend’s race at Silverstone.

However, the Briton, who currently trails championship leader Sebastian Vettel by 20 points following his fourth-place finish in Austria, has opted out of the parade – the only one of the 20 drivers to do so – after deciding to go on holiday to Greece instead.

"We invited teams and drivers to join us at F1 Live London and we had a fantastic response from all the teams and 19 of the drivers," a Formula One spokesperson said on Wednesday.

"Today will be a great day for London's Formula One fans, seeing race cars and drivers close-up, sharing the passion for F1 ahead of the British Grand Prix."

Liberty Media, which took over the sport in January, has worked for a number of months on the spectacular demo which will see cars run along Whitehall from Trafalgar Square. They are understood to be surprised and disappointed by Hamilton's no-show.

Hamilton's timing for the break is curious given that the British Grand Prix, a race he described earlier this month as the most important on the calendar, is just four days away.

Formula One also heads for its traditional four-week summer break next month in which the sport is effectively on shutdown for a fortnight.

"To my loving fans, I can't wait to see you in Silverstone," Hamilton said in a short message on his Twitter account yesterday. "Until then, I'm away on a two day break. God Bless you all. Love, Lewis."

The 32-year-old then uploaded a short video in which he appeared to be partying with friends.

When asked why Hamilton would be absent from the London demo, a Mercedes spokesperson said: "As Lewis posted on social media, he is on a short break until Silverstone."

Hamilton's former rival and defending champion Nico Rosberg, Jenson Button, the 2009 world champion who has flown in from California, and Vettel will all take part in the event.

Hamilton is due to appear in front of the media at Silverstone on Thursday ahead of his home race.