Formula 1 fans felt Lewis Hamilton showed support for Vinicius Junior after the Real Madrid star missed out on winning the Ballon d’Or.

It was confirmed on Monday night that Vinicius had finished in second place in the 2024 Ballon d’Or standings, behind Manchester City and Spain midfielder Rodri.

The Madrid contingent did not turn up after they realised Vinicius was not going to win the award.

Shortly after Rodri was handed the Ballon d’Or trophy, seven-time F1 world champion Hamilton took to social media and simply tweeted the Brazilian flag.

Football fans were quick to react to Hamilton’s tweet as they felt the Brit showed support for Vinicius.

One said: “My goat knows ball.”

Another tweeted: “The world is uniting for Vinicius Jnr. Lewis Hamilton has tweeted as well. Big Athletes.”

A third fan added: “Lewis Hamilton supporting Vinicius.”

However, the actual reason why Hamilton decided to tweet the Brazilian flag could be due to the fact that he will be in the country for this weekend’s Brazilian Grand Prix, which is being held at the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace.

Last year, Hamilton did show his support for Vinicius after the Brazilian suffered racial abuse.

He said: “It’s devastating to think in 2023 we’re still seeing these things and hearing these things.

“It really hits home for me, it really brings up emotions, things that I experienced – whether it was back in the UK, or whether it was when I was racing in Italy, or France, or Spain.”

Hamilton added: “It can be so hurtful the things that people say. I think he’s been incredibly brave. I think it’s amazing what so many of these that are experiencing that on the pitch in terms of standing tall, standing strong, continuing to be humble in their approach – not being reactive but being responsible when they’re moving forwards because they know that there are lots of young kids that are watching.

“There is no room for discrimination in society today, so sports need to do more, we all need to continue to do more, and if we see it, hear it, we need to do something about it. I hope at some stage I get to come to Brazil and support.”