Formula One:Lewis Hamilton has today been forced to apologise for his latest embarrassing indiscretion in Melbourne.
After setting the fastest time in practice for Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix, Hamilton was departing the Albert Park circuit when he foolishly opted to perform stunts in his loaned Mercedes.
Unfortunately for the 2008 Formula One world champion, the incident was in full view of a police patrol vehicle, which resulted in the 25-year-old promptly being pulled to one side.
It is now likely Hamilton, whose car has been impounded for 48 hours, will be charged with improper use of a vehicle, which could result in a fine following an appearance in court.
Issuing a statement via McLaren, Hamilton said: “This evening, I was driving in an over-exuberant manner and, as a result, was stopped by the police.
“What I did was silly, and I want to apologise for it.”
It is understood Hamilton performed tyre-smoking ‘burnouts’ and ‘fishtails’, otherwise known as ‘hooning’ in Australia, a form of anti-social driving behaviour which police have outlawed.
“The vehicle was seen to deliberately lose traction and was intercepted by police,” confirmed a Victoria Police spokesman.
“The driver, a 25-year-old man who resides in Switzerland, was spoken to at the scene and is expected to be charged on summons with improper use of a vehicle.
“The vehicle, a 2010 Mercedes, was impounded for 48 hours and the driver assisted back to his hotel, which was about six kilometres (four miles) away.”
The spokesman added: “There were no problems whatsoever when the driver was stopped.
“He was with a male passenger in the car.”
Regarding the prospect of a potential court appearance and fine, the spokesman stated: “It’s something that will be settled in court and would be a monetary matter.
“None of the court times or dates have been set as yet.”
It is not Hamilton’s first offence because in December 2007 he was caught speeding at 121mph in France, which also culminated in his car being impounded, as well as a month-long driving suspension in that country.
Significantly, this incident comes a year after Hamilton was caught lying to stewards following last season’s grand prix in Melbourne.
After a brilliant drive to finish fourth from 18th on the grid, Hamilton was promoted to third after Jarno Trulli, then with Toyota, was penalised for passing him under the safety car.
However, Hamilton was ultimately disqualified after the stewards decided he and McLaren had provided misleading evidence relating to the incident.
A few days later Hamilton humbly apologised, and has since revealed the tawdry affair that stained his character led to him considering his future in the sport.
Many critics may link this latest incident to the recent split from father Anthony as his manager, arguably suggesting it would not have occurred if his dad had been present.
Hamilton confirmed just over a week before the season started that Anthony would no longer represent him, citing a need to develop a more normal father-son relationship away from the track.
Only this week Hamilton insisted he did not yet have any need for a new manager, although confirmed he had received many applications.
When contacted, Anthony admitted he was “stunned” at the news, although appreciably declined to comment any further until he had spoken directly with his son.
Earlier this month, Hamilton had insisted that without his father now watching his every move, there would be no ‘wild side’ to his character about to emerge.
“I don’t think so,” Hamilton remarked at the time. “I am who I am. I don’t think anybody has stopped me from being who I wanted to be.
“When I arrived in the sport, I didn’t go out and buy a million different cars, I took my time.
“Maybe I might buy one car this year, who knows. But that’s not being wild.
“I’ve still the same girl, I race for the same team and I’ve still the same dedication and determination.
“I don’t think you should try and change something that works.
“My style, my approach, has always worked for me, and I tend to keep it that way.”
Hamilton may now wish to revisit his comments in a week when he admitted to having learned from the error of his ways last year in Melbourne.