Formula 1’s 7x time World Champion Lewis Hamilton–who is already an influential figure–goes under the spotlights now and then in the world of Formula 1. But, this time he has got the attention from both the footballing and F1 worlds, due to a certain statement by a Manchester City player.
Recently, Lewis Hamilton has caught the eyes of the two sporting worlds, due to a ‘shocking’ revelation about him by the ‘goal-machine’ Erling Haaland.
Lewis Hamilton named as ‘favorite F1 driver’ by Erling Haaland
Lewis Hamilton, who hasn’t won a single Grand Prix race since 2021, is highly regarded as the ‘greatest Formula 1 driver in history’, winning the F1 World Championship a ‘record-breaking’ seven time throughout his career. Despite being overshadowed by reigning Champ Max Verstappen for the past few seasons, the Briton still possesses a ‘legendary’ status in the world of sports, and is a clear F1 favorite of many other sport athletes.
This scenario is crystal-clear in a clip of Man City’s Erling Haaland, where he handpicked Lewis Hamilton as his ‘favorite F1 driver’ over Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, whom he beat to the 2023 BBC ‘World Sports Star of the Year’ award.
In a recent live interview with beIN Sports, Erling ‘The Terminator’ Haaland once again terminated Verstappen with the one-word “Hamilton” reply when questioned about his favorite driver from the current Formula 1 roster. Although Haaland clearly favors the Briton, Hamilton is a boyhood supporter of one of Manchester City’s archrivals in the Premier League.
Lewis Hamilton supports Manchester City’s Premier League rival
Lewis Hamilton, who has been a football enthusiast since his childhood, played in football teams from the age of 4 until he was 17 years old. Apart from racing and go-karting in his teenage years, he has been supporting one of Erling Haaland’s archrival clubs ever since.
Adding much to Haaland’s sorrows, this British F1 legend once admitted to being an Arsenal fan for the past 32 years. He revealed that he was bullied by his elder sister (Samantha Lockheart) into supporting the North London club.
In an interview for Sky Sports in 2022, Hamilton opened up on his sister’s role behind his Arsenal favoritism: “I remember getting home and my sister punching me several times in the arm, beating me and saying, ‘you have to support Arsenal’. So, I remember at five or six years old that I became a supporter of Arsenal.”
During the interview, he also admitted to supporting multiple teams before settling for Arsenal. He reflected on those ‘pre-Arsenal favorite’ day, by quoting, “I remember switching between these teams when I was younger.”
“I really wanted to fit in – I was the only kid of color there, but I know that the kids all supported someone different – one was Tottenham, one was Man Utd,” he added, emphasizing the reason.
As for his present F1 time, Lewis Hamilton and the rest of the Mercedes crew will now travel to Melbourne, and race with the W15 on March 24th at the Australian Grand Prix.
Is Erling Haaland being a ‘glory hunter’ by favoring Hamilton in Formula 1? Should Hamilton forget about Arsenal and start supporting Manchester City? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
