F1 stars are making the most of the week break before action resumes in Australia. While Toto Wolff used this time to take his Mercedes AMG GT3 out for a spin at Imola (and ended up crashing it), Lewis Hamilton is out fulfilling promotional duties. The seven-time world champion is in Malaysia and is visiting a school run by Petronas. However, the trip turned out to be a surprise for the fans who did not expect to see him there.
The LH army from Kuala Lumpur took to the internet to post pictures and videos as they spotted Hamilton in their city. Needless to say, the entire social media has gone into a chaotic frenzy ever since.
#F1 | Lewis Hamilton in Malaysia today. pic.twitter.com/o6k9c0an5T
— deni (@fiagirly) March 15, 2024
Petronas is one of the long-term partners of the Mercedes F1 team. Being the title sponsor, the oil giant’s name features on the team’s full title, the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team. Moreover, Petronas is also the racing fuel provider to the team. Therefore, it plays a vital role not just in keeping the team financially afloat but also in active racing.
Just last year, Lewis Hamilton visited the bustling campus of Universiti Teknologi Petronas in Malaysia. He took a tour of the university’s ginormous library which is capable of housing half a million books. Hamilton also visited the laboratory where he saw different experiments being conducted over different stages of crude oil.
In the video uploaded by Petronas, the university staff briefed the Mercedes driver about their tree-plantation initiative. As a part of the initiative, they planted a tree and named it LH44. The facility plans on planting a total of 1 million trees on its vast campus by the end of 2027.
How fans reacted to seeing Lewis Hamilton in Kuala Lumpur
X (formerly Twitter) user @goatforty4 uploaded a short video of Lewis Hamilton meeting with what looks like school staff. The caption read, “Lewis Hamilton is in school in Keramat, Kuala Lumpur for an event with Petronas!”
lewis hamilton is in school in keramat, kuala lumpur for an event with petronas!pic.twitter.com/NiKQAW7Oan
— rin (@goatforty4) March 15, 2024
Another user, @FernndoAlonso14 confirmed the development with a poster of Hamilton at the school. The reply read, “Yeah, correct, he is in my town for an event at school.”
Yeah, correct, he is in my town for an event at school pic.twitter.com/xC1x1eHKuV
— Senator Heisenberg #EndStatelessness (@FernndoAlonso14) March 15, 2024
Meanwhile, another fan rued the fact that this would be Hamilton’s last visit as the Briton will join Ferrari in 2025.
Too bad its gonna be his last time doing events in Malaysia as his joining Ferari next season
— naabil syamil (@naabilsyamil) March 15, 2024
Another user reminded the Malaysian fans how lucky they were to meet the F1 star.
SO LUCKYYYYT WHAT OMG
— colin (@xuantsuo) March 15, 2024