The FIA trophy that went on a wayward journey after last week’s Prize Giving Gala is en route back to Lewis Hamilton’s possession.
Following the event, Hamilton’s FIA trophy for third place in the 2023 World Championship went on a voyage, with an attendee at the Gala claiming to have obtained the trophy after being presented it by the seven-time World Champion.
The attendee shared photos of himself with the trophy, as well as images of the FIA trophy sitting on a mantlepiece in his own home.
Lewis Hamilton’s trophy returns after an unexpected journey
PlanetF1.com has learned from a source close to the matter that the trophy has been returned to the FIA, with the individual in possession of the trophy being identified as a guest of the Azerbaijan Automobile Federation.
According to the profile’s explanation, neither Hamilton nor an FIA representative presented the trophy.
The trophy will now be transferred to Mercedes or Hamilton in accordance with the standard protocol for delivering trophies to those who choose to have their reward sent to them after the ceremony.
With the misunderstanding resolved and the prize returned, it is understood that no further action will be required.
What happened to Lewis Hamilton’s FIA trophy in the first place?
An X (previously Twitter) page, which has since been removed, shared images of the night in Baku, posing among F1 legends like as Max Verstappen as he accepted his World Championship trophy.
The profile’s uploading of photos of the FIA trophy given over to Hamilton earlier for finishing third raised questions.
The trophy was seen on what appears to be a mantlepiece in a residence, with the caption: “Hello. I attended the Gala yesterday. Lewis Hamilton handed me the prize and then walked away. “I now have the prize at home.”
Mercedes, naturally perplexed when the accusations spread online, stressed that Hamilton had not given his third-place trophy to anyone.
“Immediately After leaving the stage, and as has been done at previous prizegivings, Lewis accepted the offer from officials to have the trophy sent to the team and thus left it in their care,” the statement stated.
“We can confirm he did not give the trophy to anyone ‘as a gift’ as has been speculated.”
The profile revealed how the mistake happened, with Hamilton supposed to have left the table on a table backstage for safekeeping.
“Good evening, hello. “I am very disappointed to see messages written to me that make me look like a thief or something,” was posted on Sunday night, just before the page was deleted.
“First and foremost, I want to state that I did not take anything from anywhere. This is simply a miscommunication. Lewis Hamilton put the award on the table. I asked him if I could take the prize.
“He said to me, yes, you can take the prize. And I thought he gifted me the award. But now, after seeing the statement from Mercedes, I understand that Lewis did not gift me the award. He mistakenly thought I was the FIA official in charge of the award.”
