Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes welcome Red Bull SUPERSTAR Neymar to the team

Hamilton, Red Bull — Photo: © LAT Images

Mercedes

Hamilton and Mercedes welcome Red Bull SUPERSTAR to the team

Lewis Hamilton and George Russell were among those giving a 'family' welcome

Dan Ripley Global Editor

Professional F1 journalist and analyst

Friday 2 June 2023 10:57 Updated: 18:29

Lewis Hamilton was reunited with one of his old friends this weekend ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix as Mercedes prepare to build towards becoming a title winning team again.

Hamilton will be lining up for the Silver Arrows who will be looking to gain plenty of new information at the Circuit de Catalunya following their recent new upgraded package introduced at Monaco.

But ahead of the race Hamilton found time to welcome back to the paddock major football star Neymar, who the seven-time world champion has developed a strong relationship with in the last few years.

Welcome to the family at Mercedes

Pictures from Mercedes’ Twitter account showed Hamilton with the Paris Saint-Germain striker, with images also showing the Brazil international with George Russell and the W14.

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The caption was titled ‘PUMA familila. Welcome to the Team, Neymar’ in reference to how the team and the 31-year-old both have close relationships with the sportswear firm.

Neymar looked to be enjoying himself inside the team's garage and seemed to relish the opportunity to even sit in the cockpit of the W14 car.

PUMA família. 💚💛 Welcome to the Team, @neymarjr. 🙏 pic.twitter.com/bLc2o5bJAW
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) June 1, 2023

Neymar's Red Bull ties

The football star is no stranger to the paddock though. As a Red Bull athlete, he was at the Monaco Grand Prix where he partied with the team who celebrated victory with Hamilton's on-track rival Max Verstappen.

Neymar was also in direct contact with Hamilton in the seconds following his 2017 title success after the Mexican Grand Prix, giving him a congratulations message via team radio heard by the watching global audience.

Although title fights look to be out of the equation this season for Mercedes, Hamilton and Russell will be hoping that at a more ideal circuit than the tight and twisty streets of Monaco, the Spanish Grand Prix can offer them a closer glimpse of climbing back into a tile fight with Red Bull.