When deciding to play online in any video game, the last thing you’d be expecting is to come up against a celebrity, let alone a sporting legend.
It turns out that such a thing might have happened to you without even knowing it, with Lewis Hamilton having revealed that he raced a fan on popular racing game Gran Turismo; however, the fan “had no idea” he was against the seven-time World Champion.
Hamilton has revealed that he’s enjoyed a spot of downtime over the winter break, with his methods of relaxation having included the occasional hour or so playing video games.
The 38-year-old joked that a fan of his continued “taking me out” during a race on Gran Turismo, whilst being oblivious that the person he was hitting was Hamilton himself!
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“I have Gran Turismo and I play that sometimes during Christmas and I go online,” Hamilton said in a video on Mercedes’ social media channels.
“And the last time I played it over Christmas, there was someone with my initials like LH or Lewis, or Lewis GB or something like that, or something 44 – and he kept taking me out. He had no idea he was racing me!”
“You’ve found me,” quickly joked George Russell.
The 103-time Grand Prix winner appears to be in good spirits ahead of the upcoming season, with the Mercedes driver waiting to sign a multi-year extension with the Germans.
Hamilton stated throughout 2022 that he was intent on signing a new deal, something he is set to do before the new campaign gets underway.
Should Hamilton sign a multi-year deal, then he will get that much closer to racing in F1 in his 40s, something he’s previously admitted to being against.
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The team’s 2022 woes, though, appear to have fired the Stevenage-born driver, up, with Mercedes and Hamilton being eager to return to the front this year and claim their Constructors’ Championship trophy back from Red Bull.
To do so, the Silver Arrows will need to start the new season strongly, with Red Bull and Ferrari set to introduce extremely competitive challengers once again.
Red Bull are set to introduce a lighter car for 2023, whilst Ferrari’s will be 30hp more powerful, setting up nicely for what’ll hopefully be an exciting title fight.