Lewis Hamilton shows off his basketball skills ahead of 2023 Miami GP

Lewis Hamilton participated in a sponsored event organised by Mercedes partner and luxury watch company IWC.

There is seemingly no time to rest for seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton, with the Mercedes driver having taken part in a IWC sponsor event in Florida ahead of this weekend’s Miami Grand Prix.

Hamilton participated in the luxury watch company’s event alongside multiple stars, including Hollywood actors James Marsden and Simu Liu.

The sponsored event saw Hamilton enjoy a bit of downtime playing basketball in Jungle Plaza, where fans of the fast-paced sport were able to take part in a Free Throw challenge.

In a separate challenge, the 38-year-old partnered up with NFL player Antrel Rolle and Marsden, in order to go against Liu, skateboarder Jagger Eaton and Brandon Okpalobi.

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Based on some of the images from the event, it appears that the 103-time race winner has some skills on the court.

His attention now, though, is firmly on the weekend ahead and the fifth round of the 2023 F1 season, which is expected throw up some challenging conditions.

Heavy rain is currently forecasted ahead of Sunday’s race at the Miami International Autodrome, meaning the first wet race of 2023 could unfold.

It is, of course, the second time that F1 has raced in Miami, with last year’s event having been a miserable one for Mercedes.

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Hamilton could only manage sixth in Miami last season, the same position he finished last weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix in.

Mercedes saw themselves slip back to fourth in the pecking order at the Baku City Circuit, with the high-speed nature of the track having hurt the Silver Arrows.

With this weekend’s venue also boasting two high-speed sections, it could be a challenging few days for the Brackley-based team, who have just one more race to get through before they introduce their new concept.

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Following Miami is the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, where the Silver Arrows are expected to introduce their eagerly awaited new concept, something which Hamilton can’t wait to get to grips with.

“I think we knew already from early on that we would have quite a few races until this upgrade, so it’s been just counting the days down or counting the weeks down,” he told Sky Sports F1.

“We don’t currently quite know exactly how good the upgrade will be, but we know it will be a start of something new for us.”