Formula 1 icon Lewis Hamilton took to social media to chart his appreciation after an Olympic champion declared the Brit was his hero.
Charles Hamelin carried Canada’s flag at the Beijing 2022 Opening Ceremony ahead of the ongoing Winter Games. The 37-year-old is his nation’s superstar short track speed skater, and he designed a special helmet to honour Hamilton during the Games.
“I did a little tribute to one of my idols,” Hamelin said on Instagram alongside a photo of the helmet inspired by the one worn by Hamilton at the controversial 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Hamilton later showed his appreciation on his social media.
“Love the helmet @Speedskater01 (Charles Hamelin's Twitter account) congratulations on all your success in Beijing,” the seven-time world champion posted on Twitter, also posting pics to his Instagram stories.
He added: “Love the fit!”
Hamelin became a four-time Olympic gold medallist in Beijing but was still blown away by the response from the Mercedes driver.
“Thank you so much. I'm speechless. You're a king”, the Canadian posted on his Instagram story in response. "Go get your title #8 I'm behind you!! I'll be watching.”
Hamelin insisted he felt like he was ‘in a dream’ after ending his Olympic career with victory in the men's 5000m relay for his fourth short-track gold and sixth Olympic medal in total.
The Canadian took relay silver on his Olympic debut at Turin 2006 and has now collected medals at five consecutive Olympic Winter Games.
He is now tied with long track speed skater Cindy Klassen as the most decorated Canadian in Winter Olympic history.
As for Hamilton, the Brit returned to the track as F1 testing began in Barcelona at the Circuit de Catalunya.
The 2022 F1 season is the ushering in of a new era, with new rules and regulations set to force teams to adjust their cars to capitalise on new technical innovations.
The regulations have been designed to improve competition and parity within the sport after a year dominated each week by Mercedes and Red Bull.
Hamilton will hope his Silver Arrows challenger will allow him to regain the world championship after rival Max Verstappen's controversial and dramatic win.
The record 23-race 2022 campaign begins with the Bahrain Grand Prix on March 20.
