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Lewis Hamilton Shows Off His New Electric Mercedes EQS, Is Branded a Hypocrite

Lewis Hamilton is under contract with Mercedes and he’s getting paid an estimated $50 million a year for it. Context is important, because here is Hamilton urging his followers to start leading greener lives by switching to an electric car, like the upcoming Mercedes EQS.
Lewis Hamilton calls the Mercedes EQS his dream car, his chance to reduce his carbon footprint 3 photos
Photo: Instagram / Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton calls the Mercedes EQS his dream car, his chance to reduce his carbon footprintLewis Hamilton calls the Mercedes EQS his dream car, his chance to reduce his carbon footprint
A recent post from the Formula One champ is raising eyebrows and earning him harsh criticism even from his fans. You will find it at the bottom of the page, but in a nutshell, the problem is this: Hamilton, a multi-millionaire with a packed garage and his own private jet, is lecturing his fans about the importance of embracing EVs, while selling an upcoming electric car that will retail at around $100,000.

You can see Hamilton’s message in the Instagram below: it’s basically him saying we should all give our lifestyle a good hard look and think of ways we can reduce our carbon footprint. For him, it’s by using an EV whenever he’s not on track, sticking to a plant-based diet and carbon offsetting. Every little change can make a difference, he says. He’s also heaping on the praise for the EQS, which he calls his “dream car” and says he can’t wait for it to be released.

The hypocrisy runs deep in this post and, implicitly, Hamilton’s stance, his own fans are telling him. “Says the race car driver,” “You own a private jet, bro” and “Are you a clown?” are among the most polite reactions, all of them pointing to Hamilton’s huge carbon footprint. The fact that Hamilton owns a private jet that he often flies – even to ferry his dogs across the world when they start missing each other, which is an endearing story but with terrible consequences for the environment – is not helping.

Neither is the fact that his garage is packed with gas-guzzlers. Hamilton owns a McLaren P1, a 1966 Shelby Cobra 427, a Ford Shelby Mustang GT500, a Ferrari LaFerrari and a 599 Aperta, the Pagani Zonda 760, and several other Mercedeses. And another EV, the Vision Mercedes Maybach 6.

In short, his fans feel like he’s talkin’ the talk but not really walkin’ the walk, so they’re calling him out.

That said, the controversy most likely stems from regular people’s understanding of what a celebrity role model is, which is often different from how the celebrities themselves see it. Even the greenest celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio, who’s always driving electric or riding bikes when he’s out and about, won’t give up their A-list lifestyle for the sake of the planet. DiCaprio, for one, usually takes an extended private superyacht cruise around the world every year with his wolf pack, and he always flies private.

Celebrities, they’re just like completely different from us. But, as they say, every little change matters, so maybe that’s the point?

 
 
 
 
 
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Recently I’ve been making many changes in my life to reduce my impact on the environment. The first step in this journey was to understand my personal impact on the planet so I could make changes to improve it. Since then, I have offset my carbon footprint from my Formula 1 career dating back to 2007, I have reduced travel where possible, I have gone plant-based and outside of the track, I try to use electric cars wherever possible. I also want to use my position as a racing driver to enforce positive and permanent change, which is why I’m working closely with Mercedes to slowly move their fleet of cars towards electric. This is my new dream car, the new EQS fully electric Mercedes. I can’t wait until it’s released! It’s difficult to always be perfect when we go about our daily lives, but I’m continuing to learn how to be better and I’m committed to staying educated and informed so I can play my part. Small steps lead to big change, so it’s important we all take a moment to understand our footprint and the small changes we can make in our everyday lives to put our planet first. The last step for me will be when I step away from this sport and can focus fully on helping heal the world to provide a better future for our kids and our kids, kids. #VisionEQS @mercedesbenz

A post shared by Lewis Hamilton (@lewishamilton) on Sep 3, 2020 at 7:14am PDT

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About the author: Elena Gorgan
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Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends.
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