Lewis Hamilton has spoken of his excitement in joining a bid to buy Premier League side Chelsea, saying he is a lifelong soccer fan who once wanted to be a professional player and whose sister forced him to support Arsenal as a kid.
At the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, the seven-time Formula One world champion says he wanted to try out for fourth-tier Stevenage Borough, before motor racing took over his life.
The Briton and tennis great Serena Williams have joined former Liverpool chairman Martin Broughton's consortium, which also includes World Athletics president Sebastian Coe and other wealthy investors bidding for the West Londoners.
Hamilton says it's "one of the greatest opportunities", and he wants to help Chelsea and the local community move on from years of ownership by now-sanctioned Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich.
"When I was young, around the corner from where I lived, I used to play football with all the kids and I really wanted to fit in," said the Mercedes driver.
"I remember switching between the teams and getting it wrong, and my sister Sam punching me several times in the arm, basically beating me and saying, 'you have to support Arsenal'."
But Hamilton says uncle Terry was a big Chelsea fan and they went to plenty of games between the two sides.
The Briton also owns a luxury property that he is renovating near the Chelsea ground.
Hamilton's interest in Chelsea has been mocked by Red Bull's reigning world champion Max Verstappen, who finds it a strange move for an Arsenal supporter.
"Ultimately, I'm a sporting fan," said Hamilton, who was at school with former Manchester United and England defender Ashley Young.
"It's the biggest sport in the world, and Chelsea is one of the biggest clubs and most successful."
Hamilton was approached by Broughton and spoke to Williams, a long-standing friend, about the opportunity.
"We are constantly in touch," he added. "We spoke about it, she asked me what my thoughts were on it and I told her I'm going to be a part of it, and she was excited to join."
The Briton sees the bid as a business venture, one of several he has made, but also one that chimed with his other activities and passions, including promoting diversity and inclusivity.
"At the moment, my primary focus is continuing in Formula One, but there's lots of opportunities to get more and more involved over time, which is super-exciting."
On the track, Hamilton's Mercedes have continued their struggles in qualifying for the sprint race at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Italy.
Hamilton qualified 13th for Sunday's (NZ time) sprint race in a messy, rain-soaked session, with teammate George Russell faring slightly better in 11th.
"I think we underperformed as a team today," said the Briton. "There are things that we should have done that we didn't do."
Hamilton says Mercedes have arrived with optimism and recognised the hard work being done back at the factory, but "things just don't come together".
"We will work as hard as we can to move up in the sprint race," he added after a rain-hit session punctuated by crashes and red-flags. "It is going to be hard, but maybe the weather will improve and we can do better.
"Each weekend is a rescue."
Reuters
