Lewis Hamilton has called for the FIA's press conference fomat to be shaken up, suggesting fans, rather than the media, should ask the questions, after he was criticised for using Snapchat during Thursday's session.
The Mercedes driver was seen using his phone as questions were put to other drivers, before a journalist asked what he was looking at on his phone, to which he replied: "Huh? Yeah, no, just… it’s quite funny, just some snaps of us drivers, it’s quite funny. That’s about it.
"Hey man, we’ve been doing this a long long time and it’s the same each time so [we've] got to keep adding new things to it."
It turns out the Briton was sharing 'snaps' of himself and his fellow drivers with animal filters over their faces, which he posted on his Snapchat.
Toro Rosso's Carlos Sainz found the funny side, later tweeting: "Hey @LewisHamilton no offense but my mum says I'm the cutest of both."
But others failed to see the humour, calling it rude and disrespectful, which Hamilton denies, adding that the press conference format should be changed to make it more interesting.
"It's been the same for 10 years," he added. "It's not the media or mediator, it's the format. Fans should be asking the questions!!
"Today was meant to [sic] be fun, not at all disrespectful. Some people take themselves to [sic] seriously. I had a blast, highlight of my day!"
