Australian minister slams Hamilton after stunt

Tim Pallas,the roads minister for the state of Victoria,was being interviewed by a radio station on Monday about a government-backed advertising campaign to educate young people about driver safety,in which the advertisements feature the slogan: Don’t be a dickhead.

Pallas was asked by the radio host about Hamilton’s conduct. He’s certainly a very silly young man,quite frankly,Pallas said. Come on,you’re the one who’s using the language. Is he a dickhead? The host pressed. Well,yes OK,I’ll say it,he’s a dickhead.

Pallas also said Red Bull’s Mark Webber was irresponsible after the Australian driver was quoted by local media as saying the country had turned into a nanny state.

It’s certainly changed since I left here — it pisses me off coming back here,to be honest,Webber was quoted as saying following a question about Hamilton’s driving offence.

It’s a great country but we’ve got to be responsible for our actions,and it’s certainly a bloody nanny state when it comes to what we can do.

Pallas said Webber’s comments were not as serious an issue as Hamilton’s brush with the law.

I draw the line at Mark,because I think what Mark Webber has done has been totally irresponsible,but he didn’t display the behaviour that Lewis Hamilton did,and that was put people’s lives at risk,he added.