Lewis Hamilton revealed he has been chatting with Sir Jim Ratcliffe about the INEOS billionaire's plans to buy Manchester United.
Ratcliffe recently emerged as one of the main contenders to launch a takeover of the club, put up for sale by the Glazer family last November. The 70-year-old was a boyhood United fan and is already involved in the world of football club ownership with Ligue 1 outfit Nice and Swiss side Lausanne-Sport.
Another of his sporting ventures is the Mercedes Formula 1 team, of which he is a part-owner. That is how he and Hamilton know each other, and one of the reasons why the seven-time world champion has been linked with possibly joining the billionaire's bid.
So far, Hamilton has been quiet on the subject. But, at Mercedes' season launch event on Wednesday morning, the Brit spoke about conversations he appears to have had with Ratcliffe about his plans for the Old Trafford club.
"I am very close with Jim so I am aware of where he is at (with United)," said Hamilton. "We talk a lot about football as he is very passionate about it. We have great discussions about what his team is doing, we talk about how Arsenal is playing.
"Obviously he is from Manchester so that is his dream home... where he comes from. But there is no further information I can give you on that."
Hamilton has proven himself to be just as interested in sports team ownership. Last year, he purchased a stake in the NFL franchise the Denver Broncos, and joined Sir Martin Broughton's ultimately unsuccessful bid to buy Chelsea.
He also recently hinted that he would be open to joining Ratcliffe's United bid, telling reporters: "Jim's part boss but partner – I'd say we're more partners because we're in this together and I hope in future to do something with Jim and build with him. I don't know where that will be or what that will be, so I can't really say.
"I haven't had a call from him asking if I want to be involved in [a United takeover bid] just yet, but I do want to get more and more involved in teams because I really do believe in black ownership – there is a lack of it in sports – and black equity. Again, there is a real lack of that."
