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Lewis Hamilton Crashes Pagani Zonda in Monaco

After the Mercedes-AMG Petronas team declared on Wednesday that Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton failed to board the plane for Sao Paulo, Brazil, due to a fever, it seems that was just half-truth. The truth is that Lewis Hamilton crashed the Pagani Zonda in the photograph above into a stationary car in Monaco, according to a post on the racing driver's Instagram.
Lewis Hamilton and his Pagani Zonda 4 photos
Photo: Lewis Hamilton on Facebook
Lewis Hamilton and his Pagani Zonda 760LHLewis Hamilton on his Monaco crashLewis Hamilton Pagani Zonda crash in Monaco
You can read LH's account of the event in the second pic of the adjacent gallery. If you haven't got the time or mood, then we're much obliged to sum up what happened: nobody was hurt, thankfully, except for the cars. However, we'd like to note down a detail that's not right in terms of PR ethics.

As it happens, the leading constructor in Formula 1 canceled a big press conference, saying that Lewis had cited "personal reasons." Earlier, though, the same public relations department of Mercedes-AMG Petronas said that LH would arrive in Brazil for this weekend's Grand Prix later than intended due to a small fever.

And now, after all this PR effort from the most successful team in Formula 1, an Instagram post from Hamilton told it as it is: "I've not been well with a fever but I also had a road accident in Monaco on Monday night." Mercedes-AMG wasn't lying about the fever and personal reasons. However, both the fans and media would've appreciated if Mercedes-AMG had said what had actually happened the first time around.

According to an Instagram user going by the name of Jordan Adams (account deleted), the third pic featured in the gallery below was taken right after the crash. Even though it was taken down by the user from the photo-sharing network, Jordan commented in the description that he heard a loud supercar "coming down the hill," then he heard a lock up under braking sound and then a "big bang."

Remember when PR departments issued trustworthy statements? Pepperidge Farm remembers. We're happy that Hamilton is all OK and the other driver is fine as well, but we fell sorry that the special edition Pagani Zonda 760LH took a shunt. Here's hope the damage is repairable and the Zonda will roar again.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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