Formula 1: Fan spends £1,600 on chartered plane to lift Hamilton's spirits during Dutch GP

Neil Steele, a Lewis Hamilton fan has crossed all bounds by chartering a plane as the F1 Star gets ready to face a hot reception at Zandvoort in Holland. The crowd and fans at Zandvoort will be rooting for their local hero and Lewis Hamilton’s championship rival Max Verstappen. The fans of Verstappen or the orange army are known for putting it all to support Verstappen during race weekends. The plane would be flying over the Dutch Grand Prix Weekend. Hamilton has previously faced booing by Verstappen’s orange army during the Hungarian and the Belgian GP. 

The Hamilton-Verstappen rivalry witness drastic revival after Verstappen's 51G crash at Silverstone

However, amidst all the heat faced by Hamilton, Neil Steele came up with an innovative idea to support his star. He rented a chartered plane that will be carrying the message, “7 X WDC (World Drivers Champion)..Simply Lovely #TeamLH” in reference to Hamilton being a seven-time World Champion. Steele is a 41-year-old Hamilton fan from Rishton in Lancashire who wanted to silence the boo-boys by flying the plane in the skies. Meanwhile, as reported by The Sun, Steele said, “It's a cheeky opportunity to show Lewis some extra support as he steps into the lion's den here in Max's back yard. I hope, a small way to get one up on the 70,000 Dutch fans that will surround and outnumber us few Lewis and Mercedes fans here at the track this weekend. We may be few, but as Lewis says..still we rise!”.

Hamilton tops point table in Drivers' Championship

Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton is currently leading the Drivers’ Championship table of the 2021 Formula One season with 202.5 points.  He is followed by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who trails the British driver only by three points. They are followed by another Brit Lando Norris who races for McLaren and has scored 113 points with three podiums this season. The Verstappen-Hamilton rivalry spiked up during the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, where both the drivers were involved in a crash, resulting in a DNF for Verstappen.

Meanwhile, in the ongoing race weekend of the Dutch GP, Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc leads the club 1-2 in the Free-Practice 2 at the Zandvoort. On the other hand, Hamilton completed only three laps after facing engine issues. The crowd was seen waving and cheering as Hamilton went back to the paddock in the Medical Car. Max Verstappen found himself at fifth place after finishing 0.362 seconds slower than Charles Leclerc.

(Image Source: ESPN F1- Twitter/ Lewis Hamilton- Instagram)