Lewis Hamilton did not carry the Brazilian flag in support of coup acts

Video published on TikTok deceives by suggesting that Lewis Hamilton, F1 driver, carried the Brazilian flag after the GP (Grand Prix) in São Paulo as a form of support for coup acts promoted by supporters of President Jair Bolsonaro (PL). The demonstrations have taken place since the beginning of November, when Brazil elected Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) as the new president. The content tricks viewers into thinking that the recording is from this year’s GP, held on November 13, when in fact it is from the race on November 14, 2021.

In last year’s race, Hamilton won and, at the end of the GP, asked for the Brazilian flag that one of the track marshals was carrying. He drove around the Interlagos circuit and took the flag to the podium. In an interview, the pilot stated that the act was a tribute to his idol in the same sport, the Brazilian driver Ayrton Senna, who died in 1994, a victim of an accident during a race in Imola, Italy.

At the time, as verified by the Comprova Project, the images of Hamilton with the Brazilian flag went viral and the pilot later received the title of honorary citizen of the country. This month, before the 2022 race, the driver went to Brasilia to officially receive the title in session at the Chamber of Deputies. In addition, he visited Morro da Providência, in Rio de Janeiro, the oldest favela in the country. The pilot still gave a new flag to the track inspectors who lent him the item in 2021, now with his autograph.

Misleading, for Comprova, is all content removed from the original context and used in another so that its meaning undergoes changes; that uses inaccurate data or that induces an interpretation different from the author’s intention; that confuses with or without the deliberate intent to cause harm.

Reach

Comprova investigates suspicious content with greater reach on social networks. As of November 17, the video on TikTok had 94,200 views, 12,900 likes, 553 comments and 2,900 shares.

What the publisher says

TikTok does not allow messaging between accounts that do not follow each other. However, several comments on the publication pointed out that the video was from 2021. In response, the author of the publication said to these users: “Sorry! I received it today and only reported it because no other foreigner did this. I was very emotional”.

How do we check

Initially, we searched Google for “Lewis Hamilton with the flag of Brazil”. The first result is an interview with the pilot on the GE portal on November 10, in which he says he carried the country’s flag, in 2021, as a way to bring hope amid the pandemic and honor the idol Ayrton Senna.

We also found in the search the same video used in the disinformation piece, published on November 14, 2021, on the Grande Prêmio website. And also content talking about the title of honorary Brazilian citizen received by Hamilton, published on the CNN Brasil website.

Homage

In an interview with GE in November of this year, Hamilton stated that he was inspired by Senna and that he carried the Brazilian flag to bring hope. “We were going through a pandemic, so many people lost their lives here. There was a need to have hope. Something inside me said ‘go, get (the flag)’. And I drove with it. […] For me it was something reminiscent of Ayrton (Senna) and his racing spirit. I remember when he ran here, he took the flag and that Brazil didn’t have that for some time”, he said.

At the 2021 GP, Hamilton repeated the gesture that Ayrton Senna made for the first time in 1986, at the Detroit circuit. When he won a race, the Brazilian driver took an additional lap around the track with the flag in celebration.

Brazilian citizen

Lewis Hamilton received the title of honorary Brazilian citizen on November 7, 2022, in a ceremony at the National Congress. The honor was suggested by federal deputy André Figueiredo (PDT-CE) after the British driver’s victory in the Formula 1 Grand Prix at the Interlagos Circuit, in São Paulo, in 2021. The parliamentarian’s request was approved by the Chamber in June of this year .

According to CNN, before the ceremony, Hamilton said he was “incredibly honored” to receive the title. “Throughout my life, Brazil held a special place in my heart. Whether watching Ayrton Senna as a child, or winning races at Interlagos, I always felt that the country was my second home”, stated the driver.

After the tribute, the British pilot published a text of thanks on social networks.

this year’s race

After receiving the title of honorary citizen, Lewis Hamilton posted on Twitter a personalized helmet with the design of the Brazilian flag. The equipment was used during the Interlagos Grand Prix, in São Paulo, held last Sunday, November 13th. Customized helmets commemorating the race in Brazil were also used by other drivers, such as Charles Leclerc and Alex Albon🇧🇷

The São Paulo GP was won by Englishman George Russell, from Mercedes. Hamilton, Russell’s teammate, was in second place. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz completed the podium.

Why do we investigate?

Comprova investigates content about the pandemic, federal government public policies and presidential elections that went viral on social media. At the current time, pieces of disinformation like this one checked, which inflame coup acts across the country, can disrupt democracy.

In other checks involving Hamilton, Agência Lupa showed that it was a montage of a photo of the pilot wearing a T-shirt with an image of Lula and Comprova, last year, proved to be false that Hamilton said that Brazilians are happy with the Bolsonaro government.