Tennis stars attending F1 races is nothing new, and this weekend, Aryna Sabalenka made her presence felt as a passionate fan of the sport. She was spotted at the Yas Marina Circuit paddock during the season finale, where she had some rather lively interactions with the Alpine team.
The three-time Grand Slam champion was its guest and fully embraced her experience with the Enstone-based team. She even brought the entire crew together for a memorable moment ahead of the Grand Prix.
Alpine took to Instagram to post a video of Sabalenka dancing to ‘The Ketchup Song’ with the entire team. And they were spot on with their performance—a much-needed moment of light-heartedness before the French team’s battle with Haas for P6 in the Constructors’ Championship.
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Sabalenka became the second tennis player in as many weeks to attend an F1 Grand Prix. At the previous race in Qatar, Novak Djokovic made an appearance in the paddock as a guest of McLaren. However, Sabalenka’s presence raised a few eyebrows, because just a few months ago, she was in the F1 paddock in Haas colors.
Sabalenka shifts allegiance to Alpine
The Belarusian tennis star was last seen in the F1 paddock with Haas at the Emilia Romagna GP in May. Outgoing driver Kevin Magnussen even gave her a guided tour of the track and lent her his support ahead of the WTA Finals, which she won.
In the aftermath of her victory, Haas came on to say that once she would be back in the paddock, they would celebrate her triumph.
Alpine entered the Abu Dhabi GP with a five-point lead over Haas and were the favorites to secure P6 in the standings. If they succeed, Haas may be less inclined to honor their promise to Sabalenka. According to Pietro Fittipaldi, the team’s reserve driver, many employee bonuses at Haas are tied to finishing sixth.
