Championship cheer checked by possible pisstake

Lewis Hamilton has been unable to enjoy his fifth Formula 1 world championship this week after receiving a text from former team mate Nico Rosberg which may or may not be sarcastic.

The text, which reads “Wow. Fifth title. Well done”, arrived on Sunday evening just hours after Hamilton clinched his historic championship victory, plunging the British driver into a state of distraction.

“Lewis is baffled by Nico’s text,” explained a source close to the multiple champion. “It feels like it needs an exclamation mark after the “Wow” and probably another one after “Fifth title”. Also, it definitely needs one after “Well done”. Without those, it just sounds a bit sarcastic.”

Insiders say Hamilton showed the text to team boss Toto Wolff in an attempt to clarify the tone of the message, but that his response was simply “That is nice” and this too “sounded a bit sarcastic”.

“Nico only has one world title and Lewis now has five so it would be a bit rich of him to be sarcastic,” noted a senior Mercedes source. “But, on the other hand, he does think Lewis is a bit of a twat.”

The possibly sarcastic text mystery is not the first time a Formula 1 driver has been distracted by trying to work out if another driver is taking the piss. At the 1991 Canadian Grand Prix, for example, Nigel Mansell forgot to drive the car properly on the last lap after suddenly remembering that earlier in the pit garage Riccardo Patrese had whispered to him “I like your moustache”.