Sebastian Vettel’s dinner: Alex Albon reveals if Lewis Hamilton paid £140,000 bill

Lewis Hamilton organised the dinner that saw all 20 drivers come together to celebrate the career of Sebastian Vettel.

Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel were bitter rivals once upon a time, however as both drivers matured and reached the latter stages of their respective careers, an unlikely friendship was born.

Hamilton recently paid tribute to the stunning career of the German, claiming that it meant a lot to him when Vettel chose to take the knee with him as the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement swept across the world during the COVID pandemic.

The seven-time world champion was also the only driver to receive a hug during Vettel’s guard of honour prior to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, and this may have been because of the Brit’s stunning gesture prior to the race weekend.

Hamilton organised a dinner for all 20 drivers to celebrate Vettel’s retirement and even picked up the bill at the end of what Alex Albon described as a very entertaining evening.

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“That dinner, truthfully speaking, it was really special. It was a lot of fun,” said the Williams driver.

“I think every driver, myself included, my cheeks were aching, just smiling and laughing the whole time. So it was really good.”

This was reportedly the first time that all of the drivers had shared an evening together since 2016, when the grid met up in Shanghai and according to Nico Rosberg, split the bill.

A photo of a £140,000 receipt had been circling social media following the meal, but Albon was quick to tell reporters that the drivers did not spend that much, and that the receipt did not belong to Hamilton.

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“We’re normal people. We’re not here expecting caviar on our plate and gold spoons and if it’s not gold I’m not eating it.

“We had a set menu. There’s a lot of people with dietary requirements, like obviously Lewis is a vegan and all that kind of thing,” explained the Thai driver.

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“Lewis covered the bill, very nice of him. He organised it as well, very nice of him. So he knows that the bill was. So that bill, I saw the bill, that bill was from the Salt Bae guy, we didn’t even eat there. We ate at a place called Hakkasan which was a Chinese place.”

Hamilton himself has suggested that the drivers should meet up more often, potentially making the dinner an annual occurrence.

Albon also told the media that all the drivers got on very well at the meeting, with no one choosing to avoid other drivers in the seating plan or causing hostility with their actions within the group, which is impressive considering how heated F1 can get on track.