Gunners’ fan Hamilton says manager Wenger invited him to train with London club
>> BAKU: Arsenal fan Lewis Hamilton has spoken of his admiration for outgoing manager Arsene Wenger and revealed that the Frenchman invited the four-time Formula One world champion to train with the Premier League team.
“I’ve had the privilege of meeting him a couple of times,” the Briton told Sky Sports television at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
“He asked me to go and train with the team, which I have not managed to do yet, but he was always really welcoming and it was cool to meet ‘our team’s’ boss.”
Hamilton, who said he had supported Arsenal since he was five, admired Wenger’s commitment to the North London club over more than two decades.
“The loyalty which he has shown through all the ups and downs, through outside individuals saying positives and negatives, but to stay true to your values and continue to strive for what you believe in I think has really been awesome,” he said.
Wenger is leaving Arsenal at the end of the season, with the club yet to name a replacement.
Hamilton is out of contract with Mercedes at year end but has said that he and the team remain committed to each other although a new deal, expected for months, has yet to be announced.
“I’ve made it very clear, and they’ve made it very clear that they want to continue so it’s quite an easy thing,” he said in Baku.
“I don’t... have that personality to say ‘I’m definitely going to be with them next year’ and then not be with them next year so it is just about finalising and signing off.”
Meanwhile, Hamilton turned talk of road rage into respect when asked on his return to the Azerbaijan Grand Prix about last year’s headline-grabbing clash with rival Sebastian Vettel.
The Mercedes driver, a four-time world champion like his Ferrari opponent, called the German a “disgrace” last June for his behaviour while both were following the safety car in first and second places.
Vettel, who hit the back of Hamilton’s car before pulling alongside and banging wheels, had accused the Briton of “brake-testing” him but apologised later.
Reflecting on the incident 10 months later, Hamilton sounded a positive tone.
“It’s good to see fire within the people that you’re competing with, it’s also good to see that they’re not perfect because I guess nobody’s perfect,” he told reporters.
“We all make mistakes but it’s more how people handle it and how they progress [that] is what you can really learn from. He’s continued to progress as the champion that he is.
“How he presents himself, how he speaks, he continues to grow and the words that he uses today. The respect has grown, actually, a considerable amount since then. I’m sure it will continue.”