Jamaican sprint legend Usain Bolt has revealed the Formula 1 driver he admires the most as he joined other celebrities in attending the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix in Sin City
Usain Bolt, the world’s fastest man, has declared Britain’s Lewis Hamilton as his favourite Formula One driver.
Bolt is among a host of celebrities attending the Las Vegas Grand Prix and spoke of his admiration for seven-time champion Hamilton.
“I'm always a Lewis [Hamilton] fan because I know him. Verstappen is doing wonderful, he's really coming out and showing the world. This season he’s been outstanding. But hopefully next year, Lewis can get back into it,” Bolt told Sky Sports.
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Bolt was allowed to race around the street circuit in a race car between the third free practice and qualifying which left him impressed.
"The hot lap was wonderful, the speed was great, the G force was crazy, it was good,” said Bolt.
“I think Vegas itself is such a big entertainment city. So, to actually bring the Formula One here, it's just wonderful. It's just out of this world to know that it actually happened. We've heard about it for a while, so the fact it actually happened is beautiful.”
Bolt watched the qualifying on Saturday but his favourite driver continued to struggle as Charles Leclerc took pole position for the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix after Ferrari dominated in Formula 1's prestigious new race in Sin City.
Leclerc was quicker by just 0.044 seconds than team-mate Carlos Sainz, who has a 10-place grid penalty and will start 12th.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen - who was third fastest, 0.378secs off top spot - will therefore start alongside Leclerc.
Mercedes driver George Russell was fourth, ahead of Alpine's Pierre Gasly.
In a frantic final few seconds of the session, Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso plummeted from being fourth after the first runs to 10th.
Hamilton could manage only 11th in his Mercedes, and the second Red Bull driver Sergio Perez joined him in being knocked out in the second session in 12th place after Red Bull miscalculated and brought him in to the pits with more than two minutes still remaining in the session, resulting in him dropping down from sixth.
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