Hamilton surprises boss in "James Bond-like" off-road test

Sam Hall
Friday 4 November 2022 18:10

Lewis Hamilton surprised Sir Jim Ratcliffe as he ran the rule over the Mercedes F1 investor's £52,000 Ineos Grenadier 4X4.

Ratcliffe is a one-third owner of the Mercedes team, with team principal Toto Wolff and Daimler holding equal shares.

In order to test his new Grenadier off-road machine, the INEOS CEO joined Hamilton for a blast around the Millbrook Proving Ground.

During the review video, Ratcliffe concedes to 'holding on' as the seven-time F1 champion lets loose on gravel, mud and asphalt.

"I'm genuinely enjoying driving this car," said Hamilton. "It definitely felt James Bond-like. It feels like you've got missiles that could come out.

"If I were to order mine, I'd do this all in black and have all those extra lights that you guys have and the beefed-up wheels."

But it was not all smooth sailing, with Hamilton fearing he had ripped a wheel off the car at one point and Ratcliffe quipping: "We nearly hit that post when you were doing your handbrake [turn]."

In response, Hamilton said: "I was miles away."

You can see the full video below that earned Hamilton praise from Ratcliffe who told the 37-year-old: "Considering you've not driven off-road that much, you took to that quite quickly. It's surprising, for a Formula 1 driver."