Hamilton excited by Chelsea

LEWIS Hamilton wants to turn Chelsea into a winning and profitmaking machine.

Seven-time world champion Hamilton has been named as part of Sir Martin Broughton’s consortium hoping to complete a takeover of the west London club.

Speaking ahead of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Hamilton, who has pledged millions of his own money towards the bid, said: “Naturally it is never the idea of an investment [to lose money].

“I want to be part of something, manage this team moving forward, improve that and make sure that doesn’t happen by slowly decreasing those losses and turn it into a profit-making organisation.

“That is going to take a lot of work and there are lots of moving parts. I don’t have the strategy for that at the moment. We have not won the bid so I am sure that will all come afterwards.

“But the consortium is a consortium of lifetime Chelsea fans and others that have come later to it like myself. There is not one part of that consortium that has a mindset of losing. I really think Chelsea already has a winning mindset but we can do better moving forwards.”

Hamilton, who was speaking ahead of qualifying for Saturday’s sprint race at Imola, has declared himself as an Arsenal supporter on a number of occasions.

World champion Max Verstappen poked fun at Hamilton’s new involvement with Chelsea by questioning his commitment to the Gunners.

But Hamilton, 37, continued: “I have been a football fan since I was a kid. I have played since I was four to 17 and I played for the school team every year.

“I tried out for Stevenage Borough but I ended up following the racing side. I could have only dreamed of being an integral part of a team so for me that is the most exciting thing.

“At five or six I supported Arsenal but my Uncle Terry is a big Blues fan and I have been to so many games with him to watch Arsenal and Chelsea play and ultimately I am a sporting fan and Chelsea is one of the biggest clubs in the world and one of the most successful.”

Hamilton finished only 18th as Charles Leclerc set the pace in opening practice for tomorrow’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

Leclerc, who has won two of the opening three races, holds a commanding 34-point lead at the top of the championship. And despite a number of off-track excursions, he led the way before qualifying later on Friday.

Mercedes’ early-season woes showed few signs of changing with George Russell only 10th, and Hamilton even further back.