The seven-time F1 champion says he will be following the Three Lions’ fortunes at the tournament which starts next week but he also loves another nation as its players are ‘so cool’
Lewis Hamilton put the skids under England’s World Cup glory bid – by revealing his ‘favourite team’ is Brazil. The seven-time world F1 champ – who was born in Stevenage, Herts – said he will be following the Three Lions’ fortunes too.
But he admitted his loyalties were divided over who he wants to win the summer soccer showpiece starting next week. Lewis, whose childhood Formula One hero was Brazilian Ayrton Senna, was granted honorary citizenship of the South American nation in 2022.
He said he had fallen in love with both the country and its national football team. Speaking ahead of this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix the Arsenal fan said he had always admired Brazil’s football culture as well as the rags-to-riches stories of many of its star players.
“For me, it’s tied with England,” he said. “Honestly, Brazil has always been my favourite team. Growing up in England I used to love watching Brazil play.
“I think it’s the colours, the culture, and the players always just looked the most skilled. They were so cool. I just appreciate where they come from.
“Many of the players come from the streets where they play with no shoes. There’s something quite special about Brazilian culture.”
Experts reckon Brazil is most football fans’ ‘second team’ after winning the World Cup a record five times – but not for 24 years.
Hamilton, 41, will also be following England. But he could be in agony if Thomas Tuchel ’s side faces Brazil in the quarter-finals – as the draw predicts they might.
England has never beaten Brazil at an international tournament. The South American giants won 2-1 in their last World Cup meeting in 2002.
The Three Lions have only ever triumphed in friendlies. Hamilton’s hero worship of Senna, who tragically died in a 1994 crash, saw him celebrate with a Brazil flag after winning in Sao Paulo in 2021.
He was given a race helmet by Senna’s family in 2017 and is pals with the Brazilian football legend Neymar.
Hamilton told Elle Men Brasil in 2014: “The thing I love the most in Brazil is people, energy.
‘When I finally came here I felt the energy. It’s a very diverse country, which I love. I feel at home.”
Hamilton admitted he cried a fortnight ago after Arsenal won the Premier League for the first time in 22 years.
“It was very emotional,” he said. “I shed a tear, to be honest, because I remember I was five-years-old and I used to play in Stevenage in Peartree Way around the corner, football with friends.
“I was the only black kid in the area out of the people that I was playing with and I remember trying to fit in and all of them supported different teams – West Ham, Tottenham and Manchester United – so I was bouncing between all these when I was like four or five years old depending on who I was with.
“ My sister, I remember exactly, I messaged her the other day, she was walking me home and she asked me what team I supported.
“She gave me a dead arm back then, a little dig in my arm, and said: ‘You have to support Arsenal!’ We had a laugh yesterday about it.”