• Lewis Hamilton and Serena Williams are part of Sir Martin Broughton’s consortium.
• Hamilton has pledged millions for the Chelsea Football Club bid.
• The Briton wants to see the club become a winning and profitable club.
• For more stories, visit Wheels24.
Lewis Hamilton wants to turn Premier League club Chelsea into a winning, money-making machine.
Seven-time world champion Hamilton has been named as part of Sir Martin Broughton’s consortium, hoping to complete a takeover of the west London club.
Speaking ahead of the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, Hamilton, who has pledged millions of his own money for the bid, said: “Naturally it’s never the idea of an investment [to lose money].
“I want to be part of something, to manage this team to move forward, to make it better and to make sure that doesn’t happen by slowly cutting those losses and turning it into a for-profit organization.
“It will take a lot of work, and there are a lot of moving parts. I don’t have a strategy for it at the moment. We didn’t win the bid, so I’m sure everything will come after that.
“But the consortium is a consortium of lifelong Chelsea fans and others who came later like me.” There is not a single part of this consortium that intends to lose. I really think Chelsea already have a winning mindset, but we can do better going forward.”
Hamilton, who was speaking ahead of qualifying for Saturday’s sprint race at Imola, declared himself a supporter of Arsenal on several occasions.
World champion Max Verstappen has mocked Hamilton’s new involvement with Chelsea by questioning his commitment to the Gunners.
But Hamilton, 37, continued: “I’ve been a football fan since I was a kid. From 4 to 17 I played for the school team every year.
“I went to a lot of games, and when I was younger I used to play football around the corner from my house and I wanted to fit in.
“I tried out for Stevenage Borough but ended up following the racing side. I could only have dreamed of being an integral part of a team, which is the most exciting thing for me.
“I was the only kid of color, but the kids all supported different teams. I switched teams, and then my sister, Sam, punched me in the arm several times and beat me for say you had to support Arsenal.
“When I was five or six I was supporting Arsenal, but my uncle Terry is a huge Blues fan, and I’ve been to so many games with him to see Arsenal and Chelsea play, and ultimately I’m a sports fan, and Chelsea are one of the biggest clubs in the world and one of the most successful.
“When I heard about this opportunity I was like ‘wow’, and it’s a great opportunity to be a part of something like this.”
