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Reminiscent of Darth Vader in the Star Wars movies, Lewis Hamilton was utterly dominant in the inaugural Qatar Grand Prix, handily beating title rival Max Verstappen by over 25 seconds. He was then greeted by long-time F1 fan and veteran filmmaker George Lucas, who was present in the Mercedes garage throughout the race.
Lewis Hamilton's run to the chequered flag was admittedly made easier after Verstappen took a five-place grid penalty for failing to obey double-yellow flags during his final lap of qualifying on Saturday. The penalty, coupled with having to work his way past lesser-powerful cars in the top five, saw Hamilton breeze through the 5.380km circuit without much competition.
Following the action was longtime F1 fan and Star Wars creator George Lucas.
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Not Lewis Hamilton's first meeting with George Lucas
George Lucas is known to be something of a super fan, turning up at a number of grands prix over the years, with the US and Qatar Grand Prix being his two most recent appearances.
He was spotted with the Renault F1 team in 2017, celebrating both the 40th anniversary of the team as well as that of Star Wars. He was seen posing next to drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Jolyon Palmer, who used to race for Renault back then.
Unfortunately the "Force" was not with them that weekend, as Hulkenberg had a DNF while Palmer placed just outside the top 10, without scoring any points. Renault even sported a special 40th anniversary Star Wars sticker on their car's side, which didn't seem to aid the drivers in scoring points.
George Lucas was also invited to conduct podium interviews at the 2015 Italian Grand Prix, which saw Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel and Felipe Massa place first, second and third respectively. The veteran filmmaker was spotted recently at the 2021 US Grand Prix, once again supporting Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton, who was outperformed by Max Verstappen on that occasion.
