F1's Hamilton under fire for spraying hostess in face with champagne

Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton has again come under fire for spraying a podium hostess in the face with champagne after his victory in the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday.

Britain's Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes, right, sprays champagne on the face of a hostess during the award ceremony of the 2015 Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit in Shanghai, China, 12 April 2015 (AAP)

Britain's Lewis Hamilton sprays champagne on a hostess at the 2015 Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix award ceremony, Shanghai, China, 12 April 2015 (AAP)

After taking the top spot on the podium in Shanghai, Hamilton released a stream of champagne directly into the visibly discomforted hostess' face.
 
It's the second time the Formula One driver has subjected a hostess to a spraying, pulling a similar act at the Spanish Grand Prix in 2014.
 
Twitter users described the spraying as "bullying", "ungentlemanly", and that Hamilton should "have a bit more respect for the ladies."

 The stunt has anti-sexism campaigners labeling Hamilton "selfish" and "inconsiderate", as well as claiming it contributes to the culture of sexism that exists in the motor racing world.
 
Roz Hardie, chief executive of Object, a campaign on media sexism and "sex object culture", says Hamilton should apologise immediately for his actions.
 
"Motor racing appears to unnecessarily portray women as sexualised objects and that probably makes it even harder for the women to stand up for themselves," Ms Hardie told the Daily Mail.
 
The backlash over the stunt and a spat yesterday with teammate Nico Rosberg has detracted from Hamilton's victorious 2015 season with Mercedes.
 
Rosberg alleged Hamilton deliberately slowed down on the final round of pit-stops in an attempt to protect his tyres, leaving Rosberg under needless pressure from Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel.
 
Hamilton is on top of the leaderboard with 68 points, 12 points ahead of Vettel and 15 points ahead of Rosberg.





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