Hamilton to face scrutiny

LEWIS Hamilton is due to make his first public outing of the new year today following criticism he received for comments made about his nephew wearing a dress.

The four-time Formula One world champion will appear at an event for IWC, the Swiss watchmaker that sponsors his Mercedes team, in Geneva.

The gala will mark Hamilton’s opening work commitment of 2018 and his first since his social media purge three weeks ago.

Hamilton issued an apology for the video he posted to Instagram on Boxing Day, in which he told his nephew “boys don’t wear princess dresses” but subsequently removed all of his posts, firstly on Instagram and then Twitter. He has a combined following of 11 million across both platforms.

Hamilton, who turned 33 earlier this month, has been an avid endorser of social media, making his deleting spree and ensuing absence all the more mysterious.

The Mercedes driver surpassed Sir Jackie Stewart to become the first Briton to win four Formula One world titles at the Mexican Grand Prix in October.

But his incredible year — which also saw him eclipse Michael Schumacher’s all-time record of pole positions — ended in off-track controversy f ollowing claims in the leaked Paradise Papers he avoided paying tax on his private j et, before t he backlash against his Instagram video.

He finished only sixth at last month’s BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

Lewis Hamilton