Formula One ace Lewis Hamilton has become known as one of the ‘wokest’ men in sport, while his good pal Philip Green is well-known for his controversies and scandals.

Yet the pioneering sportsman, 35, who was joined by model Florence Mueller, proved their friendship defies their politics as he was seen living it up on the disgraced fashion tycoon’s £100m superyacht, Lionheart on Monday.

It is the second time Lewis and his rumoured love interest Florence have joined the Topshop boss on his yacht, which is complete with helipad, pool, 15 crew cabins and room for 12 guests,as they have been taking to the highs seas between Lewis’ stints at the Formula One last weekend.

The appearance comes just days after the fashion mogul issued a grovelling apology in a humiliating U-turn over plans to exploit the government’s furlough pay cut loophole to reduce payments to staff his company Arcadia was making redundant.

Lewis, who hit headlines at the F1 over the weekend when he took a knee wearing a black T-Shirt with the message ‘Arrest the cops who killed Breonna Taylor’, has frequently spent time with Philip and the Green family, with the friendship seemingly blossoming at the 2015 Met Gala, where Lewis wore a Topshop suit.

Heading off: Lewis Hamilton has become known as one of the ‘wokest’ drivers in Formula One, while his good pal Philip Green is well-known for his controversies and scandals, yet they maintain a friendship and were seen together on Monday on the latter’s yacht

In 2015, Lewis thanked Phillip for ‘hooking him up’ with his invite to the prestigious Met Gala, where he wore Topman. Joined by Emily Ratajkowski, Bella Hadid, Hailey Baldwin and a host of other megastars who all wore custom Topshop to the event, Lewis sported the high street store for the most important night in fashion.

Since then, the duo have been spotted together in both a friendship and professional capacity, with Lewis often hanging out with Philip’s daughter Chloe. Like the Greens, Lewis owns property in tax-free Monaco, where he is believed to have a home in the exclusive Fontvieille district.

In October last year, Hamilton, who previously owned a private jet, defended his right to speak out on environmental issues after receiving backlash

He revealed he had sold his private jet, trimmed down his collection of luxury cars and was using less plastic to reduce his carbon footprint

Wow: It is the second time the duo have joined the Topshop boss on his £100m yacht which is complete with helipad, pool, 15 crew cabins and room for 12 guests,

Bold: Lewis hit headlines at the F1 over the weekend when he took a knee wearing a black T-Shirt with the message ‘Arrest the cops who killed Breonna Taylor’

However yachts are not known for being environmentally friendly, with huge emissions, possible impact on wildlife and use of single-use plastic on board

Lewis has been hitting headlines of late thanks to his admirable attempts at shining light on the Black Lives Matter movement in Formula One racing and it was announced on Tuesday that he has avoided any action by Formula One’s governing body for the T-shirt he wore at Sunday’s Tuscan Grand Prix.

Ahead of Sunday’s race, Hamilton took a knee wearing a black T-Shirt with the message ‘Arrest the cops who killed Breonna Taylor’, which sparked investigation.

The boys: The unlikely friends spent some quality time together on the high seas

Taylor, a 26-year-old black woman, was shot dead by police in her Louisville home six months ago. He then wore the T-shirt for his post-race interview, broadcast to millions around the world, before collecting the winner’s trophy and standing on the podium in the same clothing.

Philip meanwhile has been hitting headlines for very different reasons than his crusading pal.

In a humiliating U-turn, the tycoon’s retail empire issued a grovelling apology at the weekend for plans to exploit furlough rules to reduce payments to staff who it was making redundant.

Arcadia Group, which has taken tens of millions of pounds in taxpayer-funded furlough money, was savaged after it emerged that employees who were losing their jobs would miss out on money during their notice period.

In an extraordinary statement, the company crumbled, axeing the plan and apologising to its employees. Sources close to Sir Philip said he had ordered the U-turn after learning of the details of the proposed pay cut.

‘We recently implemented a policy for those employees who are working their notice on furlough to receive their furlough pay instead of their full pay,’ the company said in its statement.

The whole clan: Lewis has frequently spent time with Philip and the Green family, with the friendship seemingly blossoming at the 2015 Met Gala, where Lewis wore a Topshop suit (Lewis with Chloe, Tina and Philip Green in 2017)

‘We got this decision wrong and the board has today amended this policy to ensure all affected employees will receive their full pay. They will be notified of this decision immediately.

‘We are extremely sorry to all those individuals impacted for the distress that we have caused and apologise unreservedly.’

Arcadia, which includes the fashion brands Topshop, Miss Selfridge and Dorothy Perkins, is making 300 staff redundant at its head office after sales slumped during the coronavirus lockdown.

But it was revealed that bosses had planned to take advantage of a loophole in rules allowing it to pay axed staff at reduced rates during their notice period.

Arcadia made 300 staff at its head office redundant and paid then reduced rates for their notice period through a loophole in the government rules.