Lewis Hamilton under fire after saying Stevenage is 'not great' compared to Monte Carlo

Mercedes driver comes under fire for talking down his home town

Mercedes teammates Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg (GETTY IMAGES)

Lewis Hamilton has come under fire from prominent figures in his home town after comparing Stevenage unfavourably with Monte Carlo.

Having let slip his world championship lead after the Monaco Grand Prix, Hamilton was in a sullen mood as he spoke to journalists, during which even his home town failed to escape the wrath of Nicole Scherzinger's on-off boyfriend.

As he compare his upbringing to that of Nico Rosberg, his (former) friend, team-mate and the man who replaced him at the top of the standings after the latest Grand Prix, Hamilton said: “I come from a not-great place in Stevenage and lived on a couch in my dad’s apartment – and Nico grew up in Monaco with jets and hotels and boats and all these kinds of things – so the hunger is different.”

Stevenage was always likely to come out unfavourably in comparisons with Monaco, a destination synonymous with wealth, yachts and fast cars. Hamilton's home town, aside from being the birth place of Lewis Hamilton, is perhaps best known as being close to Knebworth and the setting for Steve Coogan comedy Saxondale.

However, the former McLaren driver appears to have offended those of Stevenage. “I can’t see how he can say such things about the place where he grew up,” councillor Phillip Bibby said. “He needs to remember his roots. His comments are unfair.”

Sharon Taylor, Stevenage Borough Council’s leader, added: “Of course we are very proud of Lewis – he’s an incredible example of what people from Stevenage can do. But it would be a lot better if he could speak up for the place he comes from. We would love to talk to him about promoting the town.”

Another councillor is quoted as saying: “No need for Lewis to be so derogatory in his comments”.