During the recently concluded basketball game between the LA Lakers and the Portland Trail Blazers, two F1 stars made an appearance from the audience. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon were spotted having the time of their lives at the crypto.com arena.

The Lakers did end up winning the game, despite the absence of their marquee player, LeBron James. However, LeBron was not completely absent from the stadium, as he was later spotted interacting with the 2 F1 drivers. During this short clip, LeBron confirmed his presence for the Las Vegas GP. This also adds another celebrity to the list of attendees for this premier event.

Charles Leclerc’s Fanboy Moment

The video, which made a lot of rounds on different social media platforms, starts out with an awkward fanboy moment for Leclerc. Ocon, prepared to meet the 38-year-old legend, had brought his helmet as a present. Leclerc, however, had no idea that he’d be meeting the king of basketball.

After Esteban gives away his helmet, Charles explains the whole thing awkwardly. “I didn’t know I would meet you, otherwise I would have brought mine”

Shortly after this cute moment that fans absolutely adored, Esteban asked a crucial question, “Are you coming anytime soon to Formula 1?”. The king, without any hesitation, confirmed his presence in the Sin City’s first appearance in the F1 circuit after 40 years.

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Incidentally, only 5 months ago, LeBron James made his cameo appearance during Le Mans earlier this year, acting as a starter.

LeBron James’s Love For Racing

LeBron James’ cameo appearances, both past and present, are not merely ceremonious. He has a vested interest in racing, as can be evidenced by his stake in the Fenway Sports Group. For the uninitiated, FSG co-owns the RFK Nascar racing team.

Speaking earlier about his Le Mans appearance, following a suite of big names like Brad Pitt and Steve McQueen, the King stated, “There’s nothing like seeing and experiencing the sport at the highest level.”

Naturally, this move would thrill Liberty Media immensely. Despite the news of ticket and hotel prices going down as the weekend approaches, roping in such legends may prove beneficial to the actual race. It’s not the first US Grand Prix where celebrities helped promote the race weekend in the United States.

Some, the fans took extremely well, some others were pure meme materials for the fans. Every single person who follows F1 will immediately remember the memes about Tim Cook unenthusiastically waving the chequered flag, alongside Martin Brundle’s awkward interviews.

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The Las Vegas weekend has so much hype built around it now. Only time will tell if the event lives up to it.