Tennis legend Novak Djokovic was spotted in the McLaren garage during the first and only practice session in the penultimate round of the 2024 season in Qatar. This came as a surprise to many, as Djokovic is more often associated with Mercedes driver George Russell.
Djokovic and Russell’s friendship dates back to a chance meeting at the gym. The Briton once revealed that he bumped into the 24-time Grand Slam champion during a workout session, and their casual meeting turned into an enjoyable time together.
Not only did they exercise side by side, but they also walked home together afterward, sharing stories and insights. Their connection developed over time and earlier this year Russell and his girlfriend, Carmen Mundt, were seen cheering for Djokovic at Wimbledon.
The Mercedes driver had shown great support for the Serbian star, which made Djokovic’s appearance in the McLaren garage even more unexpected. Years ago, Djokovic got a thrilling ride in a McLaren P1 hypercar with two-time F1 champion Mika Hakkinen, which could have left a lasting impression on him, making him a supporter of the Woking-based squad.
Tennis legend Novak Djokovic having fun at the Qatar Grand Prix weekend with several outfits.#Formula1 #QatarGP #NovakDjokovic #Alpine #Scuderiaferrari pic.twitter.com/bCGXZ5cRZA
— Formula World (@F1_Grand_Prix) November 29, 2024
Interestingly, Djokovic also spent time with other F1 teams before his McLaren visit as seen in his latest Instagram stories. He hung out with Alpine drivers Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon and even joined Ferrari’s crew for some warm-up drills, but hasn’t yet visited the Mercedes garage.
Djokovic once gave clues to Russell to know when his girlfriend was mad at him
When the trio met at Wimbledon earlier this year, Djokovic gave Russell a telling “relationship hack” during a conversation with Carmen Mundt. While chatting about languages, the tennis star asked Mundt if the Briton was any good at speaking Spanish.
george: “we were impressed with your spanish.”
novak: “how’s his [spanish] doing?”
carmen: “badly. speak to him let’s see how it works.”
george: “NO NO… if you speak to me in spanish that would embarrass me.”— simal⁶³ | GR WIN (@russelldocs) July 11, 2024
She said that he was pretty bad at it which led to Djokovic asking Mundt, “If you speak to him in Spanish, it means you’re upset or not?” Mundt confirmed that to be the case, which inadvertently led Russell to get the clue about when his girlfriend might be mad at him.
