It is false that Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton said that he has never seen Brazilians as happy as in the government of President Jair Bolsonaro (no party). A piece of disinformation circulates on social media that attributes to the Briton the praiseworthy comment.
The statement, verified by Projeto Comprova and shared by a profile that defines itself as a pocket scientist, would have been given to The New York Times, after Hamilton’s victory in the São Paulo Grand Prix, on November 14th. In the report, by email, the press office of Mercedes-Benz, Hamilton’s squad, stated that the driver “never said that and did not give an interview to the NYT”.
In another tweet about the disinformation piece, the owner of the profile stated that, for her, it makes no difference that the British driver has not, in fact, made positive comments about the Bolsonaro government after winning at the Interlagos track. “No one needs to speak for me what I can say for myself: I am happy with this government,” she wrote.
The report questioned the author of the fake Instagram post. She replied that she didn’t think the publication had the potential to harm others. He claimed that he saw only leftists classifying the content as fake, “no one on the right”. Afterwards, however, she recognized the falsehood of the publication and deleted the content.
False, for Comprova, is any content that has been invented or has been edited to change its original meaning or deliberately disclosed to spread a lie.
How do we check?
Initially, the article searched Google and The New York Times portal looking for an interview given by the English pilot with the same content as the verified publication. The words entered were “Lewis Hamilton”, “Brazil” and “Bolsonaro”. The site did not present articles with these themes.
The team also visited content checks carried out by the UOL Confere, Agência Lupa, Boatos.org, Estadão, Yahoo and IstoÉ websites. The conclusion of all checks was that the content is fake.
The article contacted the author of the post via a private message on Instagram and, after the interview, she deleted the content.
By email, the Mercedes-Benz press office stated that the pilot “never said that and did not give an interview to the NYT”.
Verification
The post here verified invents that Hamilton’s comment would have been made in the presence of the governor of São Paulo, João Doria (PSDB), one of Bolsonaro’s main political opponents. The toucan is called “tight panties” in the post. It was Doria who delivered the winner of the São Paulo GP to the Englishman.
“An honor to present Lewis Hamilton with the award for Winner of the SP Formula 1 Grand Prix. Exciting to see Hamilton raise the Brazilian flag in the highest place on the podium. Exciting to see the crowd scream ‘Senna! Senna!'”, posted the profile from the governor on Twitter.
Hamilton emulou Senna
The pilot’s reverence for the national flag was not a way of mentioning the “pocketnarismo”, a movement that uses the colors and the Brazilian flag in demonstrations in favor of the President of the Republic. Hamilton’s gesture was a show of admiration for three-time Formula 1 world champion Ayrton Senna (1960-1994). In 2021, it will be 30 years since Senna’s first victory in Interlagos.
On March 24, 1991, the Brazilian faced obstacles until he was able to celebrate unprecedentedly in front of his own fans, such as the rain and only the sixth march running. He raised the national flag in first place on the podium. In 1993, the gesture was repeated twice, in Brazil and Australia, when the driver raised the flag from the cockpit, still with the car in motion, as Hamilton did. The records are on the website in memory of the pilot.
In an interview with TV Bandeirantes, which holds the rights to broadcast the sport, Hamilton said: “This one went to Brazil. I am very proud and very happy with all the passion and love I received from people. It was a very special moment. I remember to see videos of Ayrton carrying the flag when he won here and I looked for the flag at the end”.
Support
The Mercedes driver has already posted on Instagram, on May 31, 2021, a message in support of protesters against Bolsonaro. “My heart goes out to you, Brazil,” wrote the seven-time Formula 1 champion.
The image of the publication was from Avenida Paulista, one of the postcards of São Paulo, to that opportunity taken by people against the handling of the health crisis by the Bolsonaro government. The country had more than 461,000 deaths caused by Covid-19.
Dispute between Doria and Bolsonaro
Bolsonaro already wanted the Brazilian GP to be held in Rio de Janeiro, at a race track that was yet to be built, in the Deodoro neighborhood, on the west side of the city. He even announced that negotiations with Liberty Media, the business group that manages F1, were 99% complete. In parallel, the São Paulo government negotiated with the same group to maintain the race in São Paulo.
The project to move to the capital of Rio de Janeiro also had environmental implications. The racecourse track would pass through the Camboatá Forest, the last stretch of Atlantic Forest in a flat area in the city of Rio de Janeiro. The Rio de Janeiro City Council, then, approved bill 1,345, of 2019, which creates the Revis (Refugio de Vidas Silvestre) in the Camboatá Forest.
The leader of Mayor Eduardo Paes (DEM) at the House, Átila Nunes (DEM), assessed that the approval of the text will result in the preservation of fauna and flora.
Why do we investigate?
In its fourth phase, Comprova checks suspicious content that has gone viral on social media about the pandemic, federal government public policies and the 2022 elections. Bolsonaro, as he claims that the president was praised for a world-celebrated pilot.
At the time of publication of this text, the post had over 6,000 interactions. Some comments were against the fake publication. Others, favorable. “Thanks Hamilton! The panties deserve it! And the people, despite everything, we live in a judicial dictatorship, they are happy and safe with Bolsonaro”, wrote one user.
False, for Comprova, is any content that has been invented or has been edited to change its original meaning or deliberately disclosed to spread a lie.
Comprova performed this verification based on information available on the 17th November 2021.
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