F1 fans praised Lewis Hamilton’s good friend Mellody Hobson for being there for the former world champion after his disappointment at the Abu Dhabi GP last year.
The 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will go down as one of the most dramatic, controversial and entertaining races in Formula One history.
With a lap to go in the final race of the F1 season, Lewis Hamilton was in first place and destined to become an eight-time Formula One world champion.
However, after former F1 race director Michael Masi’s controversial decision to allow the cars between leader Lewis Hamilton and second-placed Max Verstappen to be waved by, the Dutchman was able to take advantage of his new tyres to pass Hamilton and claim both the race and the world championship.
Mellody Hobson consoled good friend Lewis Hamilton after Abu Dhabi
In a recent tell-all interview with Vanity Fair, the Brit discussed his career as well as that fateful race in Abu Dhabi last year.
Hamilton’s good friend Mellody Hobson was there that night, and remembers everything that went down. Hobson is president and co-chief executive of Ariel Investments, and chairman of Starbucks Corporation. She is married to Star Wars director and producer George Lucas.
Hobson met Hamilton at the 2007 Monaco Grand Prix and they have been friends ever since. Lewis has even called her “one of the most inspiring women I’ve ever met in my life.”
Speaking to Vanity Fair about the aftermath of the race in Abu Dhabi, Hobson recalled saying: “He’s [Hamilton] really stunned.
“Stunned. Like shock. He’s asking the same question over and over again: ‘What happened?’ I grabbed him by both shoulders. I was like, ‘You did everything right.’ I kept saying that to him, I said, ‘It wasn’t you. You did everything right.’ And he just literally said, like four or five times: ‘What happened?’”
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‘This is what you do, and you’re not done’
Hamilton’s grace in defeat was noted by countless observers, including Hobson’s husband George Lucas, who remarked after Hamilton went over to congratulate Verstappen after the race: “Heroes are bigger than champions. Lewis just earned hero status.”
After inviting Lewis to join her and Lucas for Christmas in the Caribbean, Hobson spent a lot of time debriefing the former world champion.
“We make no decisions in times of great anguish or pain,” she remembers telling him. “You have to just sit with this, and it’s going to be hard and uncomfortable. But there’s nothing to be done at this moment. So do nothing.”
She also told him: “This is what you do, and you’re not done.”
Fans praise Hobson for being there for Hamilton
Fans on social media were full of praise for Hobson for being there when Lewis needed it:
Lewis recently joined Broncos ownership group with Hobson
Recently it was announced Lewis Hamilton was teaming up with the Walton-Penner group, led by Walmart heir Rob Walton, to purchase NFL team the Denver Broncos.
The group includes former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who joined as an investor in July, as well as Mellody Hobson.
The Walton-Penner group agreed to purchase the Broncos from the estate of the late Pat Bowlen for $4.65 billion (£3.85 billion). It is the highest price paid for any North American sports team.
The rest of the NFL owners are set to confirm the purchase in a vote on August 9.
At the beginning of August, Mellody welcomed “little brother” Lewis to the Broncos on Instagram:
What did you make of the Abu Dhabi GP last year? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
