How Mellody Hobson and George Lucas persuaded Lewis Hamilton not to retire

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With the end of the 2021 Formula One season going right to the wire, with Max Verstappen controversially snatching the title away from 7-time champion Sir Lewis Hamilton, the racing legend was close to ending his time on the track. If not for the intervention of Mellody Hobson and George Lucas, he may well have stepped away. A co-owner alongside Hobson of the Denver Broncos, Hamilton was invited by Mellody and George to spend Christmas with them in the Caribbean, an offer he initially turned down but eventually accepted.

“He was in a dark place,” said Hobson.

Speaking about what happened in the closing laps of the season finale was a banned topic.

Hobson explained, though, that they did most of their talking at dawn, with his future being a major talking point.

“And that’s when we spent a lot of time sort of going in and debriefing,” said the 53-year-old.

“And I just kept telling him things like: We make no decisions in times of great anguish or pain. You have to just sit with this, and it’s going to be hard and uncomfortable. But there’s nothing to be done at this moment. So do nothing.

“This is what you do, and you’re not done.”

Hobson first met Hamilton at the 2007 Monaco Grand Prix; after being taken by Lucas; it was of course Hamilton’s first F1 race at the principality.

 

Products @ ForbiddenPlanet.com – UK and Worldwide Cult Entertainment Megastore

 

Mark Newbold
Mark Newbold
Exploring the galaxy since 1978, Mark wrote his first fan fiction in '81 and has been a presence online since webpage Fanta War in 1996. He is the EiC and Daily Content Manager of Fantha Tracks and currently contributes to ILM.com, SkywalkerSound.com, Star Wars – Das Offizielle Magazin, Journal of the Whills and Starburst Magazine, having previously contributed to magazines Star Wars Insider, Geeky Monkey, TV Film Memorabilia, Model and Collectors Mart, partworks Build Darth Vader, Star Wars Encyclopedia, and Build The Millennium Falcon, and websites Jedi.net, Jedi News, StarWars.com, Lightsabre.co.uk, and Wirezone. He is the only podcaster to have appeared on every Celebration podcast stage since it began in 2015 (hosting it four times), and is the co-host of Making Tracks, Canon Fodder and Start Your Engines on Fantha Tracks Radio.
- Advertisement -
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With the end of the 2021 Formula One season going right to the wire, with Max Verstappen controversially snatching the title away from 7-time champion Sir Lewis Hamilton, the racing legend was close to ending his time on the track. If not for the intervention of Mellody Hobson and George Lucas, he may well have stepped away. A co-owner alongside Hobson of the Denver Broncos, Hamilton was invited by Mellody and George to spend Christmas with them in the Caribbean, an offer he initially turned down but eventually accepted.

“He was in a dark place,” said Hobson.

Speaking about what happened in the closing laps of the season finale was a banned topic.

Hobson explained, though, that they did most of their talking at dawn, with his future being a major talking point.

“And that’s when we spent a lot of time sort of going in and debriefing,” said the 53-year-old.

“And I just kept telling him things like: We make no decisions in times of great anguish or pain. You have to just sit with this, and it’s going to be hard and uncomfortable. But there’s nothing to be done at this moment. So do nothing.

“This is what you do, and you’re not done.”

Hobson first met Hamilton at the 2007 Monaco Grand Prix; after being taken by Lucas; it was of course Hamilton’s first F1 race at the principality.

 

Products @ ForbiddenPlanet.com – UK and Worldwide Cult Entertainment Megastore

 

Mark Newbold
Mark Newbold
Exploring the galaxy since 1978, Mark wrote his first fan fiction in '81 and has been a presence online since webpage Fanta War in 1996. He is the EiC and Daily Content Manager of Fantha Tracks and currently contributes to ILM.com, SkywalkerSound.com, Star Wars – Das Offizielle Magazin, Journal of the Whills and Starburst Magazine, having previously contributed to magazines Star Wars Insider, Geeky Monkey, TV Film Memorabilia, Model and Collectors Mart, partworks Build Darth Vader, Star Wars Encyclopedia, and Build The Millennium Falcon, and websites Jedi.net, Jedi News, StarWars.com, Lightsabre.co.uk, and Wirezone. He is the only podcaster to have appeared on every Celebration podcast stage since it began in 2015 (hosting it four times), and is the co-host of Making Tracks, Canon Fodder and Start Your Engines on Fantha Tracks Radio.
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