Hamilton made his first public comments today, saying he was never going to quit #F1.
Now adds Toto Wolff: "I was never concerned that he was leaving," and adds HAM needed to "flake out socially. And he has come back in a great mindset."
Hamilton now speaking:
“It was obviously a difficult time for me. I just unplugged. Switched off. I had my whole family around me and just focused on being present with them… what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”
“Whilst moments like this might define careers, I refuse to let this define mine," Hamilton adds.
"If you think what you saw at the end of the last year was my best, wait to see this year." #F1@LewisHamilton
@LewisHamilton Hamilton now saying social media platforms have not done enough regarding @NicholasLatifi death threats.
"I have been in touch with Nicholas and he has my full support."
@LewisHamilton@NicholasLatifi "I don't hold any grudges with anybody. I never think that's ever a good thing to carry around with you. I moved forwards, I don't dwell on the past. I feel centered and fully focused. I don't have anything over my shoulders holding me back this year."
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“Oh look, here’s little Gilles,” says Jacques Villeneuve of his 3 week old son.
He says it took him until his 5th child to name one after his late father; now that he’s 50, he said, he’d gotten to a place where he was comfortable using the name.
"It took a while to get to that point because he wasn’t a very present father. It was different days back then, so I guess I had a lot to digest and at this point in my life I was ready to do that and it felt right," Villeneuve said.
What his father might think of the Daytona 500. “I think he’d be jealous. I don’t know. What I know of him a lot of it is probably my imagination because there’s no way you know your dad when you’re 9 or 10, or it’s what I’ve heard from people was also being romanticized..."
I’m mainstream media. If a team confirms a sponsor, a driver hiring, a rule change, but says they can’t be quoted and must be a source, AM I LYING? Is every Stern bomb a lie? Is Pockrass lying in the info he gives Fox pit reporters?
Because if mainstream media @bobpockrass learns things from a source and passes it on to be reported on air, and it is repeated by a colleague, is everyone lying? Did anyone DO THEIR OWN HOMEWORK?
Journalism ethics lesson: Reputable organizations must have their sources vetted by management. At AP, a source is only approved if the person has direct knowledge of the situation. ie ... they were part of conversation, involved in decision, it directly involves them, etc
More #Indy500 details:
-- Central Indiana TV blackout lifted
-- All concerts, VIP Red Carpet, Last Row Party, Legends Day and 500 Festival Parade canceled
-- 500 Festival programming transitioning to digital platforms
-- Pit stop competition on Carb Day will still happen
Also canceled for #Indy500: Infield Camping: Glamping, Tiny Houses
• IMS Fan Midway and Sponsor
Activations
• Autograph Sessions and Meet & Greets
• FanVision/Racing Electronics Rentals
• Seat Back Rentals
• Armed For
“The noose was real,” said Steve Phelps. “As was our concern for Bubba.”
To recap (my numbers in earlier tweets are not correct.)
-- At 29 tracks with 1,684 garage stalls, only 11 had a garage door pull-down rope tied in a knot.
-- Below is the only 1 fashioned in a noose
New Talladega garages first used Oct., 2019 race. Garages were not used again until Sunday.
-- Garage stalls are assigned based on points. Wallace randomly got that stall.
-- It is the only knot fashioned that way in any stall of all NASCAR's tracks.
-- NASCAR does not know how this 1 rope out of 1,684 others was tied like that, or by whom. Unsure why no one found it odd last October race weeked.
"We will mandate that all members of our industry complete sensitivity and unconscious bias training."