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: GMM