Once again, Formula 1 Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton has been caught up in yet another controversy where he has simply said the wrong thing at the wrong time.

Much like his past comments on the country of India, which he meant in good faith, and also comments he made about one of his male relatives wearing a dress.

Following picking up an award at the annual BBC Sports Personality of the Year, Hamilton made a few comments about his rise to fame while negatively mentioning the 'slums' that he came from.

"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. We all set our goals very, very high but we did it as a team," Hamilton said. 

To say that the people of Stevenage were less than impressed would be an understatement.

Sharon Taylor, Stevenage Borough Council leader, took to Twitter to share her frustrations about the Formula 1 driver. 

"Disappointing that Lewis Hamilton chose to use this event to make negative comments about his hometown,"

She added: "Nowhere is perfect but we’ll go high & say we are #ProudofStevenage."

However, the famous Formula 1 driver responded to these frustrations and simply asked the British, and Stevenage, public to not waste 'negative energy' on an issue such as this. 

"I wanted to take a second to send a message to people back in the UK but also to people in Stevenage, where I grew up, somewhere I’m incredibly proud of coming from and still love to this day," Lewis said. 

"Please, if you are getting up in your feelings about a mistake I made on stage, don’t bother with it, throw it to the side, it’s negative energy you don’t need to hold.

"I’m super proud of where I’ve come from and I hope you know I represent in the best way I can always.

"Nobody’s perfect, 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 you’ve had in life. I chose the wrong words, but I didn’t mean anything by it.

"Those of you who know me know I always mean love. So, God bless you, have a great day."

With the 2018 season now finished, Hamilton will be looking forward to a promising 2019 season where the British driver could make history should he win yet another Drivers' Championship.