Lewis Hamilton Hails Naomi Osaka Over French Open Pull-Out, Says "I Applaud Her" | Formula 1 News
Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton hailed Naomi Osaka’s “bravery” for pulling out of the French Open following her media engagement stand-off and criticised the way Roland Garros handled the issue. The 23-year-old four-time Grand Slam winner quit the tournament on Monday after being fined and threatened with disqualification for refusing to honour mandatory media commitments, claiming they were detrimental to her mental health.
Hamilton sympathised with Osaka, drawing comparisons with how he felt as a raw rookie starting out on his motor racing career.
“The fact is that when you are young, you are thrown into the spotlight and it weighs heavily on you and most of us aren’t prepared,” the Mercedes driver said on Thursday.
“When I got into F1, the team had PR (but) I was never prepared to be thrown in front of a camera, never guided as to what to look out for, helped to navigate through that.
“You kind of learn through mistakes and it’s incredibly nerve-racking, especially when you have all good intentions but people take advantage of it.”
