Lewis Hamilton keen to turn Chelsea into a profit-making and winning machine

Lewis Hamilton wants to turn Chelsea into a winning and profit-making machine.

Seven-time world champion Hamilton has been named as part of Sir Martin Broughton’s consortium hoping to complete a takeover of the west London club.

Speaking ahead of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Hamilton, who has pledged millions of his own money towards the bid, said: “Naturally it is never the idea of an investment [to lose money].

“I want to be part of something, manage this team moving forward, improve that and make sure that doesn’t happen by slowly decreasing those losses and turn it into a profit-making organisation.

“That is going to take a lot of work and there are lots of moving parts. I don’t have the strategy for that at the moment. We have not won the bid so I am sure that will all come afterwards.

“But the consortium is a consortium of lifetime Chelsea fans and others that have come later to it like myself. There is not one part of that consortium that has a mindset of losing. I really think Chelsea already has a winning mindset but we can do better moving forwards.”

Hamilton, who was speaking ahead of qualifying for Saturday’s sprint race at Imola, has declared himself as an Arsenal supporter on a number of occasions.

World champion Max Verstappen poked fun at Hamilton’s new involvement with Chelsea by questioning his commitment to the Gunners.

But Hamilton, 37, continued: “I have been a football fan since I was a kid. I have played since I was four to 17 and I played for the school team every year.

“I have been to numerous games and when I was younger, I played football around the corner from where I lived and I wanted to fit in.

“I tried out for Stevenage Borough but I ended up following the racing side. I could have only dreamed of being an integral part of a team so for me that is the most exciting thing.

“I was the only kid of colour but the kids all supported different teams. I switched between the teams, and then my sister, Sam, punched me several times in the arm and beat me to say ‘you have to support Arsenal’.

“At five or six I supported Arsenal but my Uncle Terry is a big Blues fan and I have been to so many games with him to watch Arsenal and Chelsea play and ultimately I am a sporting fan and Chelsea is one of the biggest clubs in the world and one of the most successful.

“When I heard about this opportunity I was like ‘wow’, and it is a great opportunity to be part of something like that.”