“What a load of rubbish”: Alex Albon clarifies Lewis Hamilton didn’t pay $140,000 for Sebastian Vettel dinner

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was all about Sebastian Vettel. It was the German driver’s last race in F1, and tributes poured in from every area of the sport just to celebrate his contribution.

On the eve of the final race of his career, all 20 drivers joined for a special dinner. Multiple reports and the smile on the faces of the drivers suggest that everyone had a great time.

An unforgettable night pic.twitter.com/5NMeYWfm4j

— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) November 17, 2022

This showed how strong the camaraderie is between all the drivers, who, despite competing against each other across the year. And also to show how much impact Vettel made on all his colleagues.

Also read: Former Haas driver Nikita Mazepin recounts the depressing life of an F1 driver following their departure from the sport

Alex Albon rubbished expensive bill paid for Sebastian Vettel

When 20 F1 drivers sit down for dinner, it’s obvious that it will be a fancy meal. It was rumoured that the bill almost amassed $140,000 in amount, and it was paid by Lewis Hamilton. But Alex Albon outrightly called it fake news.

“What a load of rubbish,” said Albon to F1 Nation podcast when the hosts quoted him the reported bill figure. “We are normal people. We’re not here expecting caviar on our plate and gold spoons. We had a set menu. We have people with dietary requirements. I saw the bill it was lesser.”

Albon then repeatedly praised Hamilton for organizing the dinner. He credited Hamilton for taking care of everything and lauded him and Vettel for being so welcoming towards the younger drivers.

Lewis Hamilton made a special night for everyone

Albon then speaks about how special the night was made by Hamilton. The Thai-born F1 driver reveals that the environment among the drivers was so good and friendly.

He claims that his cheekbones started to hurt because of the constant smiling at the dinner. So, he gave full credit to his senior driver for pulling up a night like that.

Apart from that, certain secrets from the dinner can never be traced. The Williams driver states that all the drivers vowed that none of the talks would go out of that table. Thus, Albon didn’t even reveal who ordered the most expensive alcohol since everything was covered by Hamilton.

Also read: Toto Wolff claims George Russell finishing above Lewis Hamilton is irrelevant

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

Read More