Formula One ace Lewis Hamilton missed the Wimbledon final after he was refused entry to the Royal Box for falling foul of its strict dress code.

The 30-year-old racing champion was among the select group of guests invited to watch the showdown between Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer from the exclusive Centre Court area.

But he set tongues wagging after he was unable to take his seat and left SW19 before Djokovic had beaten Federer in a four set thriller which ended 7-6 6-7 6-4 6-3.

Men who are invited to the Royal Box - which yesterday was graced by Hollywood stars such as Benedict Cumberbatch, Bradley Cooper and Hugh Grant - must wear a tie, jacket and shoes.

A spokesman for Hamilton said: 'Due to an unfortunate misunderstanding regarding dress code at Wimbledon, Lewis is very disappointed to have missed the men's final.'

The two-time world champion, who is currently leading the F1 drivers' standings, posted a picture from the All England in which he could be seen indoors with a grass court in the background.

In the picture, which he simply captioned 'Wimbledon', he could be seen wearing a hat but did not appear to have a tie or a jacket on.

He had earlier shared a picture of his Royal Box invitation package, excitedly telling fans: 'On my way to Wimbledon to watch the final.

'Honoured to have been invited to watch the men's finals from the Royal Box.'

A Wimbledon spokesman confirmed that the driver had left before the final ended, but would not comment further.

The spokesman said: 'If he was not adequately dressed you could infer that he would not have been let in, but we do not comment on our guests.

'If he came without a jacket, tie or shoes he would have had two choices - not staying or going to get some extra stuff.'

Following his victory - his third Wimbledon title - Djokovic screamed in delight and pumped his arms, before celebrating by eating some of the hallowed Centre Court turf.

The 28-year-old Serb - who married wife Jelena last year - said: 'One year ago I won the trophy, and on this day, we got married in the church, started a new life together.

'It's really an amazing chapter of my life that I'm trying to enjoy as much as I can.

'Ever since I got married and became a father, I haven't lost many matches, I won many tournaments. I suggest that to every player, Get married, have kids, let's enjoy this.'

Djokovic and his wife, along with women's champion Serena Williams, later attended the annual Champions' Dinner at the Guildhall in The City of London.