Lewis Hamilton is left stunned after meeting his oldest fan and discovering he is 105 YEARS OLD, as world champion takes time out from his intense battle to try and win a record eighth F1 world championship
- Mercedes star Lewis Hamilton met a fan and his son through a video call recently
- But Brit was shocked to learn that his big fan Len was 105-years-old
- The world champion applauded the supporter during a lengthy conversation
Lewis Hamilton may be one of the oldest and wisest drivers on the Formula One grid but he sill has years of wisdom to gain compared to sections of his fanbase after meeting his oldest supporter.
Hamilton took time out from his fierce championship battle with Max Verstappen, who he is trying to fend off in a bid to win a record eighth title, by meeting a fan who incredibly has turned 105-years-old this week.
The Mercedes star from Stevenage exchanged a video call with the fan named Len who along with his son David admitted they were excited to get the opportunity to speak to the 36-year-old.
Lewis Hamilton was left applauding after discovering his oldest fan was 105-years-old
Hamilton met his oldest fan Len (right) and his son David during a video call recently
And Hamilton was left applauding Len after finding out he was due to turn 105.
Hamilton said: ‘I’ve heard you’ve got a birthday coming up, is that right?’, to which Len’s son David replied: ‘Yeah, dad’s going to be a 105 in a couple of weeks,’ leaving the world champion to react by saying: ‘Wow, 105 – and he looks great! He looks so good!
After the pair showed their appreciation for Hamilton’s efforts in thanking his supporters and Mercedes team behind his F1 success, Hamilton reflected on the key members in his motorsport journey.
‘I grew up in a normal town. I know that I couldn’t have got here on my own.
Hamilton supporter Len celebrated his 105th birthday on Thursday, and was given a cake with the world champion’s Mercedes car as part of its decoration
Hamilton will be looking to win a record eighth world championship this season with Mercedes
‘My parents, and everything they sacrificed – and now I have this huge group of people behind me who are not in the limelight, they’re not all at the track and for me it’s important for them to know that I know that I couldn’t have had this result if it wasn’t for them.’
Hamilton spoke to Len and David before the Turkish Grand Prix, where the Brit lost the lead in the title race to Verstappen during a troubled weekend.
Having been forced to start from 11th following a grid penalty in relation to changing an engine, the Brit forced his way up the field only for a controversial pit-stop strategy to limit him to a fifth place finish on Sunday.
Despite losing the title lead last time out in Turkey, Hamilton has strong hopes of fighting back
Hamilton is battling Max Verstappen (left) who leads the title battle by just six points
Hamilton now trails Verstappen by six points heading into next weekend’s United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas.
Although the seven-time world champion will remain confident his Mercedes has the edge over Verstappen’s Red Bull car during the championship run-in, there are fears he will have to take a grid penalty again before the season ends.
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff admits that he has concerns over whether one of Hamilton’s engines can last over the next six races.
‘It can last until the end of the season but there could be a moment we say it is worth taking a fresh one because the other one is still at risk,’ he told Sky Sports.
