"I love Lewis Hamilton" - When Liam Payne expressed his adoration for the Mercedes driver ahead of the F1 British GP

Back in 2023, the late Liam Payne arrived at the F1 paddock to support his compatriot, Lewis Hamilton, at the British Grand Prix. As a British citizen at Hamilton's home Grand Prix, it was perhaps obvious that the musician declared his allegiances with the Mercedes man.

Payne, a former member of the boy band One Direction, tragically passed away on Wednesday. According to reports, he died after falling from the third floor of a hotel in the Palermo neighborhood in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

At the 2023 British GP at Silverstone, Payne was one of the guests. As he arrived at the paddock and got down for the grid walk on the track, he met Martin Brundle. Brundle, the former F1 driver and a renowned commentator with Sky Sports, was also at the track for his customary tradition, the grid walk with Sky F1.

Brundle asked the Payne star about his support for Hamilton ahead of the race. Payne replied,

"I love Lewis. He's great! I've known him a few years now. I'm excited to see him race."

In the 2023 race, Lewis Hamilton had a decent outing at Silverstone that time around. He started the race from P7, but ended up in the final podium place, behind race winner Max Verstappen and P2 Lando Norris.

Besides Liam Payne, actress Florence Pugh and renowned coach Pep Guardiola were also present at the paddock that weekend.

The late pop star rocketed to stardom during his time as a member of the globally renowned pop group "One Direction." He was a member of the band that also included Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, and Harry Styles. The group went into hiatus in 2016, and since then Payne had been performing solo.

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Like Liam Payne, fellow One Direction member roots for Lewis Hamilton

While it is sad that Liam Payne will no longer be around to arrive at the F1 paddock and show his support for Lewis Hamilton, Payne's former colleague Niall Horan is also a fan of the British driver.

Horan, also a former member of "One Direction," is also a Hamilton fan, as he shared a few times. During a feature with "Hits Radio" last year, Horan was asked who his favorite F1 driver was. He said,

“I don’t want to sound like a glory hunter but I’m a huge Lewis Hamilton fan. He’s a guy I know quite well and obviously an unbelievable driver, seven world championships to his name.”

Besides voicing his support for the seven-time F1 world champion, Niall Horan was present at the 2022 French Grand Prix at Circuit Paul Ricard, near Marseilles, France.