Lewis Hamilton could prove himself king of the Formula One jungle this weekend – and has sought out appropriate company in the shape of three lion cubs.
Hamilton only needs to finish fifth at the Mexican Grand Prix this Sunday to seal a fourth world championship crown and third in the space of four years.
During some downtime ahead of the 71-lap race at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, the 32-year-old uploaded an Instagram story video of himself and his mother entertaining a trio of lion cubs.
In the 13-second clip, a sitting Hamilton holds his phone to record himself petting a couple of the cubs, one of whom seems to take a liking to the Briton’s footwear.
Hamilton, who owns two pet bulldogs named Roscoe and CoCo and has this year changed to a Vegan diet, then says: “Don’t chew my shoes, don’t chew my shoes.”
Hamilton has won five of the last six F1 races to open up a 66-point lead on closest rival Sebastian Vettel, whose challenge has faltered in recent weeks.
