Williams F1 driver Carlos Sainz personally invited Sir Chris Hoy and his wife Lady Sarra to the British Grand Prix after watching a documentary about the Olympic champion's cancer battle. The six-time Olympic gold medallist revealed the gesture during an appearance on the grid at Silverstone.
Invitation Out of the Blue
Speaking to Sky Sports F1's Martin Brundle, Hoy said: "Carlos Sainz messaged me out of the blue. He said 'Hey, I watched your documentary about you and Sarra and we'd love to host you'. So a massive thanks to Carlos, we saw him earlier, and we'll be cheering him on today."
The documentary, titled 'Sir Chris Hoy: Cancer, Courage and Me', aired on BBC in December last year. It detailed his diagnosis with terminal stage four prostate cancer and his wife's battle with multiple sclerosis (MS).
A Weekend of Major Events
The Hoys attended Wimbledon Centre Court's Royal Box on Saturday, just 24 hours before arriving at Silverstone for the British Grand Prix. Despite their health challenges, both are living life to the fullest.
Hoy's appearance at Silverstone followed a charity event with former Red Bull team principal Christian Horner that raised over £1 million for UK cancer charities. He has also generated millions through his Tour De 4 charity cycling initiatives.
Living with Stage Four Cancer
Hoy recently told the Press Association he is coping well and refusing to let his diagnosis define him. "I'm doing fine, thanks. The Tour De 4 is the main focus for me the next few months. It's trying to demonstrate, rather than just talking about it, that all these people who are in a similar situation to me - living with stage four cancer - that there's plenty of life left in us," he said.
"We're determined to make the most of it, and not have cancer define who you are. You don't have to be facing a stage four cancer diagnosis to have tough moments. I guess for me and for my family, the thing that we've tried to do is to not look too far ahead and to still have plans for the future and still have goals and aims and things to look forward to."
The former Team GB cyclist revealed in 2024 that his prostate cancer had advanced to his bones and that medics told him he had between two and four years remaining.
Appreciating the Small Things
Reflecting earlier this year on what his diagnosis taught him, Hoy said: "When the dust settled I realised that the important things I wanted to do were the small things, the things that we often glaze over, that we don't even reflect on. Time spent with your kids, with our loved ones, a moment reflecting as the sun comes up in the morning and you have your coffee, and you think 'Ah, it's wonderful.'"
"Little things that we're just so busy in life that we tend to dismiss or move on from very quickly but if you can slow things down, for all of us, not just anybody in my situation. Appreciating the moment and recognising that what's done, what's in the past, you can't change that - and what's coming in the future. You don't actually know, good or bad, so there's no point worrying right now. You may as well just enjoy the moment. If you worry about something you suffer twice."
