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F1 legal battles loom: Hamilton in trouble?

London, England - Two legal battles are threatening to break out behind the scenes in Formula 1.

Mark Sutton, a renowned F1 photographer, is furious that without seeking permission, Lewis Hamilton used a photo of him performing a burnout on a motorbike whilst leaving Monza.

Sutton said the image was posted on Hamilton's Instagram account.

Legal battles

Sutton said on Facebook: "The cheek, nerve and blatant misuse of copyright ... and intellectual property! Any lawyers out there who understand breach of intellectual copyright, let me know!"

An ongoing spat with Jean Todt-led FIA and former F1 doctor Gary Hartstein is also still raging, after Hartstein suggested officials of the governing body might be liable for the death of Jules Bianchi.

Hartstein's latest comments earned him a letter from an FIA lawyer, who accused the American of posting "defamatory remarks" with the "sole objective of harming the FIA and its leadership in your quest for personal vindication and publicity".

The letter was revealed online by Hartstein, who also published a copy of his reply to the FIA's lawyer.

He wrote to the lawyer: "When writing, I am always scrupulously careful to verify my facts, and to present that which is not factual as not being factual."

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