F1 driver Lewis Hamilton apologises for calling his British hometown a 'slum'

When Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton spoke on stage at the 2018 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards, he chose an unfortunate word to describe his hometown.

Hamilton used the word "slum" to describe Stevenage in the UK. His exact words were: "It really was a dream for us all as a family to do something different. For us to get out of the slums. Well, not the slums, but to get out of somewhere and do something." (The Oxford Dictionary defines a slum as "a squalid and overcrowded urban street or district inhabited by very poor people.")

But now, Hamilton has issued an apology for using that word to describe his hometown. In a video posted to Instagram and later removed, the F1 driver said he was sorry that he "chose the wrong words".

"I'm super-proud of where I've come from and I hope that you know that I represent in the best way that I can always and nobody's perfect," Hamilton said in the Instagram video, according to the BBC. "I definitely make mistakes quite often and particularly when you're up in front of a crowd trying to find the right words to express the long journey that you've had in life. I chose the wrong words."

After Hamilton's initial remarks, the leader of Stevenage Borough Council, Sharon Taylor, said it was "disappointing" that Hamilton had used the word "slum" to describe the town of 88,000 people.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Another athlete, Team England Parabadminton player Gobi Ranganathan, said in a tweet that he was proud to be from Stevenage, and thanked the town for supporting him.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Hamilton said in the Instagram video that he really didn't mean anything by the comment.

"I didn't mean anything by it and those of you who know me know that I always mean love," Hamilton said in the now deleted video.