Seven-time Formula 1 Champion Lewis Hamilton Is Part Of A Group That Paid A Record $4.65 Billion For The Denver Broncos.
Seven-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton is now part owner of the National Football League’s Denver Broncos, the team announced Tuesday.
Hamilton joins a new contingent of owners that also includes former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Reuters reported Tuesday. This follows a June agreement between the Broncos and the Walton-Penner family, led by Walmart heir Rob Walton, for the purchase of the team reportedly worth $4.65 billion—a record for an American sports franchise.
“We’re delighted to welcome seven-time Formula 1 world champion Sir Lewis Hamilton to our ownership group,” Walton said in a statement announcing the addition of the motorsports star, who was knighted last year. “He is a champion competitor who knows what it takes to lead a winning team and a fierce advocate for global equality, including in his own sport.”
“We’re delighted to welcome Seven-Time Formula One World Champion Sir @LewisHamilton to our ownership group. He is a champion competitor who knows what it takes to lead a winning team.”
F1’s only Black driver, Hamilton in 2020 set up the Hamilton Commission to promote diversity in motorsports. He’s also made several statements of solidarity with protests for racial justice in recent years, wearing shirts with the slogans “Black Lives Matter” and “Arrest The Cops Who Killed Breonna Taylor” at races.
The Broncos are three-time Super Bowl champions. Hamilton’s seven F1 driver’s titles, including six with Mercedes-AMG and one with McLaren, tie the record set by Michael Schumacher. It’s unlikely that he’ll break the record this season, due to a sharp drop-off in performance by Mercedes.
While this is Hamilton’s first venture into American sports, it isn’t his first experience of team ownership. The British driver also owns the X44 team that competes in the all-electric Extreme E off-road racing series.