Lewis Hamilton has urged England football fans to refrain from singing the anthem 'It's Coming Home' until the Three Lions have secured the World Cup trophy. The Formula 1 legend, who is supporting both England and Brazil in the tournament, made the request on the opening day of the competition in North America.
Hamilton's Divided Loyalties
Hamilton, born in Stevenage and a proud representative of Great Britain throughout his illustrious F1 career, was granted honorary Brazilian citizenship in 2022. Ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix, he revealed he would be cheering for Carlo Ancelotti's Selecao as much as for Harry Kane and his teammates.
Speaking about his allegiance, Hamilton said: "For me, it's tied with England. 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 and there's something quite special about Brazilian culture."
Warning to England Fans
His comments stirred reactions back home, but Hamilton doubled down on his support for Brazil during media day ahead of the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, just hours before the World Cup kicked off with co-hosts Mexico facing South Africa.
When asked for his World Cup predictions, Hamilton replied: "I don't have a prediction. I don't follow it that much, that close to be honest. I will tune in every now and then. I will always keep a close eye on what England is doing. I just hope they don't sing 'It's Coming Home' too early, because that's what we normally do. Sing it once we've got it, not before. It's a great song, but I'm looking forward to seeing the guys in yellow in Brazil. I love watching Brazil."
Hamilton's F1 Form
Hamilton has finished second in his last two Grands Prix and appears to have found rhythm since joining Ferrari. He is well-positioned to secure his first win for the Scuderia soon, but acknowledges it may require Mercedes having a poor weekend or his team making significant performance gains.
He commented: "I hope that we can be there for a scenario like that, but I think we exist to win and I don't think we exist to win by default from someone else. We exist to win through pure performance and earning it and that's what we're working towards."
Hamilton added: "With a car it's very complex, it's not one thing that changes everything, it's a combination of many things, moving parts coming together and working together in synergy and I think we are finally in a place where we're working really well as a team collectively."
He concluded: "Every single person in this team has something to bring to the table and my goal when I arrived was to try to encourage everyone to try to push to elevate. We all can always elevate and be better, including myself. I've arrived this year with a much better mentality, fitter and a much better approach. A combination of all those things."
