"This quote demonstrates a lack of class" - Lewis Hamilton's comment on Max Verstappen securing pole position infuriates fan

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton has received criticism from some fans on social media for failing to address rival and Red Bull driver Max Verstappen by name after the latter's stunning qualifying performance at the 2023 Monaco GP.

The reigning two-time world champion delivered one of the best qualifying laps of his career and gained three-tenths in the final sector of the track to snatch pole position from Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso by a margin of 0.084s on Saturday.

Lewis Hamilton in his post-qualifying interview said:

"Ocon came out of nowhere, he did obviously a great lap. I was really hopeful Fernando would have the pole at the end, I saw it and was like, 'Oh, this could be amazing for him'. But that Red Bull was just too quick."

But his failure to congratulate Verstappen properly irked one of the fans on social media, who said:

"This quote demonstrates a lack of class. Everybody was cheering Alonso on. And Leclerc for that matter. But it was the better driver (he has a name, you may try and remember it) who pulled off something magical in that final sector."

"I was pushing so hard to get… ultimately overdriving" - Lewis Hamilton

The seven-time world champion could only manage the sixth fastest time in qualifying but will start the race from P5 after Charles Leclerc's three-place grid drop.

As per F1.com, Lewis Hamilton said:

“It was so tough. This car is a son of a gun. I was pushing so hard to get… ultimately overdriving. And when you are overdriving, it is the worst place to be because the car doesn’t do what you want.

"But if I underdrive or I drive the car to its limit we might not get the car into the top 10. So, just living on that edge of just being over the limit the whole time, so I’m touching the barriers.

“And also, I had to make some changes to try and make up the middle sector because the middle sector was our biggest loss. Picked up the middle sector but the first and last were the worst. Ultimately, I think our aero balance needs working on, but the upgrades were good this weekend, so I’m grateful for those.”

It will be fascinating to see if Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes can climb their way into podium positions on Sunday and get a chance to taste the champagne for the second time this season.