Former formula 1 world champion Nigel Mansell has continued his war of words with McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton, branding him “not mature” and insisting his driving style at the Monaco Grand Prix earlier this season was “very poor”.

The 1992 champion had earlier spoken out about speculation linking Hamilton with a move to McLaren’s championship rivals Red Bull, telling the media ahead of the British Grand Prix: “It might be a mistake if he (Hamilton) changes team.  He hasn’t exactly had a drought. I’d stay with McLaren and the people who’ve supported him in thick and thin.”

The 26-year-old responded to the likes of Mansell and Jacques Villeneuve – who also gave an opinion on his future – ahead of the race at Silverstone, suggesting the former drivers should keep their views to themselves.

“I’m not sure that anyone really cares what some of those people are talking about or their opinions. I think that if you have an opinion, just keep it to yourself.” Hamilton commented.

Now Mansell has responded once more after Hamilton publicly rebuked the tyre choice made by his team for the British Grand Prix that left him in 10^th place after qualifying – the latest in a long line of indiscretions by the 2008 World Champion this season.

“I think he needs to settle himself down because the recent episode at Monaco was unnecessary and unflattering both for himself and Formula One. I thought his driving style was very poor because he had no respect for anyone else because where is anyone going to go?” – Nigel Mansell

Hamilton criticised his team after a poor qualifying session in Monaco and was also forced to apologise after saying it was a “frickin’ joke” that he was made to appear before the race stewards after racing incidents with Felipe Massa and Pastor Maldonado, before his now infamous “maybe it’s because I’m black” Ali G joke in the same interview, which led to former drivers such as Niki Lauda and Sir Stirling Moss criticising his aggressive driving approach along with his attitude.

An eventful first half of the season was rounded off by his collision with team-mate Jenson Button in the Canadian Grand Prix before Hamilton was forced to concede a podium finish at his home race after a radio transmission revealed he did not have enough fuel to finish the race at full speed.

Now Mansell believes Hamilton must change his approach to the sport along with his behaviour away from the track, saying he was particularly “disappointed” in Hamilton after the Monaco Grand Prix.

“Lewis is not mature and he’s not got a head on him,” Mansell told F1 Racing magazine.

“I think he needs to settle himself down because the recent episode at Monaco was unnecessary and unflattering both for himself and Formula One. I thought his driving style was very poor because he had no respect for anyone else because where is anyone going to go?

“To say that overtaking is impossible at Monaco, well… I’ve done it coming out of the tunnel several times… but then to say what he said about the stewards was appalling.

“I was very disappointed and he’s got to remember that he has been a World Champion so he should act accordingly and appropriately at all times,” he added.

Mansell went on to suggest that Hamilton could learn a lot from team-mate and fellow world champion Jenson Button about how to behave, saying the 2009 champion “carries with him just that little bit more maturity.”

Formula1fancast view: There is no doubt that Lewis Hamilton has cut a frustrated figure this season because of his inability to keep pace with Red Bull, and now Ferrari appear to have moved ahead of McLaren, there could be plenty of dark times ahead before the 26-year-old picks up his second world championship. On top of that the views of Mansell are likely to be about as welcome as a headache for Hamilton, who will rightly point to the fact that the Monaco Grand Prix is history now, so Mansell’s need to speak out on the matter now is somewhat confusing – The former Williams driver is unlikely to find himself on the list of invitees to the McLaren man’s recently announced wedding.

You can  follow us on Twitter and Facebook and keep up to date with the latest news ahead of the German Grand Prix this weekend. You can also check out the latest editions of our regular features such as  Tweeting Around The Circuit articles as well as the Back In The Day.

We also have some cracking videos for you to watch, so head over to our video section now, while you can also have a go at our new “Who is Eddie Jordan covering up today?“ game!

Related posts: