The fan at the centre of the confusion around Lewis Hamilton's official FIA championship trophy has conceded the Mercedes driver "mistakenly thought" he was an official in charge of the award.
After the FIA prize-giving ceremony in Baku, images were posted on social media of Hamilton's third-place trophy sitting on a table, seemingly having been left behind by the Briton.
A fan present then picked it up, claiming that Hamilton had gifted the award to him, taking it home, but a Mercedes statement indicated a misunderstanding.
Hamilton left the award behind so that the FIA could send it onto the team back at Brackley, with him allegedly believing the fan was the FIA official responsible.
Taking to a now-deleted social media account, the fan made clear that he had not stolen the award, as some users had claimed, with it being a misunderstanding.
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