[Racer Duck]

Lewis Hamilton has admitted that a publicity stunt prior to the Turkish grand prix was a threat to his "cool" image.

The McLaren driver left onlookers baffled on Thursday when, wearing his full F1 drivers' gear, he was swung from a trapeze wire in the role of the god 'Apollo' on the set of a local theatre show.

After photos of the bizarre event were published by international newspapers to unflattering headlines, however, 23-year-old Hamilton now appears to regret agreeing to team sponsor Vodafone's demands.

"Let's forget about that," he told reporters at Istanbul Park on Friday.

"Afterwards I thought, 'That really was not cool'. I just turned up and got on with what I'd been told to do. Now I've seen the footage and it's one of the worst things I've seen. I have a cool image and things like that don't help," Hamilton said.

The British newspaper The Times suggested that Hamilton might consider appointing a "media consultant" to "help him sidestep such elephant traps" in the future.

Source: Paddock Talk