Kamala Harris Says She Watches F1, Roots for Lewis Hamilton

As it turns out, U.S. vice president and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris is a racing fan. Specifically, in an interview on Tuesday, October 8th, Harris told longtime radio host Howard Stern that she watches Formula 1 and supports Lewis Hamilton.

In a clip shared to Twitter after the interview on SiriusXM, Harris mentioned that her "whole family" loves F1. Stern then asks if her interest was a "campaign thing," and Harris replies by noting that the campaign has gotten in the way of watching races. Like any great American F1 fan, she then complained about early and inconsistent start times at some events.

Harris added that her favorite driver is Lewis Hamilton, although Stern noted that he "[doesn't] even know who that is." Harris informed the radio host that Hamilton is leaving Mercedes, then recommended F1 to Stern before the interview moved on to another subject.

While Harris's rival, Republican presdiential nominee Donald Trump, has never talked about an interest in F1, he did attend the Miami Grand Prix earlier this year. Trump also attended NASCAR's Charlotte race over Memorial Day weekend as part of a tour of sporting events also highlighted by UFC bouts and college football games. Trump also attended the 2020 Daytona 500 as part of his previous campaign. He was also invited to drive — and later asked not to drive — the pace car at the 2011 Indianapolis 500, four years before he began his first of three successive presidential campaigns in 2015.

Either Trump or Harris will succeed Joe Biden as president. While both candidates seem to support auto racing, neither is likely to match Biden in terms of car guy bona fides any time soon. In a 2023 interview, Biden — who once sat for an interview with Car and Driver –claimed that he has hit 132 mph in his C2 Corvette under Secret Service supervision and topped that speed with a 171 mph run in an unspecified Porsche.

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