Alain Prost Blames Social Media over Lewis Hamilton ‘Lost His Level’ Claims

Alain Prost reckons that social media is to blame for the massive wave of hate towards Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari debut in 2025.

Alain Prost Blames Social Media over Lewis Hamilton ‘Lost His Level’ Claims

Alain Prost (via Motorcycle Sports), Lewis Hamilton (via Getty)

Lewis Hamilton’s debut season with Ferrari in 2025 is nothing short of a disaster. Hamilton was expected to return the Italian constructor to their lost glory, but is now struggling to even achieve a podium finish. Due to this, the Briton continues to receive massive backlash as he fails to perform well with Maranello. Now, four-time world champion Alain Prost has sided with the 40-year-old and criticized the people berating the latter on social media.

Lewis Hamilton faced a wave of hate hurled towards him, especially on multiple social media platforms. People find it very easy to sit in the comfort of their homes and talk ill of the drivers who race at an extreme level. Hamilton, being F1’s only black driver, is used to such levels of hate and isn’t usually fazed by them. Still, Alain Prost reckons that the media plays a major role in the hate being spread around on social media nowadays.

Alain Prost asserts that social media is directly linked to the F1 media, which might push a negative narrative against a particular person. Drivers such as Lando Norris, Lewis Hamilton, and many others bear the major part of the brunt compared to some other drivers. Prost reveals the different things people are saying about Hamilton, claiming him to have lost his level. The four-time champion is a firm believer that these claims are far from the truth, as the 40-year-old is still capable of scoring well despite his age.

There’s the media, which today have an influence on social networks. If you listen to them today, ‘Lando Norris has no chance, Lewis Hamilton has lost his level’.

Alain Prost told L’Equipe

Prost insists that the increased amount of hate towards Lewis Hamilton is due to his trait of being outspoken on the grid. The 70-year-old highlighted that Hamilton has always been a person who has accepted his mistakes on the grid and did not back down from taking accountability. This causes the Briton’s image to be undermined as compared to the other drivers, who have much less humility compared to the former. The Frenchman assures that the seven-time champion isn’t ‘finished’ in terms of performance, as he recently achieved a great sprint win in China.

That’s precisely because Lewis is also very outspoken. His great strength has always been admitting his mistakes, but by doing so publicly, he undermines his image and perhaps even his confidence. People say he’s finished, but we saw with his sprint victory in Shanghai that he’s not.

Alain Prost added

Alain Prost ‘considering’ turning off Instagram due to online abuse

Alain Prost was a great driver of his time and competed with the likes of Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell, and many others. However, his close battle with Senna caused the Brazilian fans to turn a bitter eye towards him. Due to this, Prost is now considering completely shutting off Instagram due to the increased hatred towards him, especially from the people of Brazil.

Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna (via Autoweek)
Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna (via Autoweek)

Prost pointed out that he couldn’t forget about Ayrton Senna, wantingly or unwittingly, due to the constant hate and reminders from social media. The Frenchman now wants to shut off Instagram as he continues to receive a lot of hate despite the battle now being almost 30 years old. The 70-year-old added that the sea of Brazil fans following him stays as a constant reminder of his battle with Senna.

I can’t not think about Ayrton, fortunately or unfortunately. For example, I’m considering turning off my Instagram, because I get messages every day, really every day without exception – from time to time there’s a hateful one, that can happen. My biggest fan base on social media is from Brazil, of all places, so I’m forced to think of him.

Alain Prost noted

Social Media is extremely powerful now due to the freedom of speech for all people to speak their minds without much consequence. However, these platforms also remain one of the biggest spreaders of hate speech due to the ease of access for everyone. Still, drivers like Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, and many others have learnt not to pay attention to the naysayers and focus on their performances in the pinnacle of motorsport.

Read More: George Russell Responds to Lewis Hamilton’s Persistent Ferrari Struggles