Lewis Hamilton will face competition from a key Mercedes stakeholder in his bid to become part-owner of Chelsea Football Club. Sir Jim Ratcliffe - chairman of chemical company INEOS, which owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 team - has launched a rival £4.25 billion bid to purchase the club from Roman Abramovich. Hamilton has previously described the prospect of becoming involved with the current Champions League winners as "very exciting", after it emerged he and tennis player Serena Williams were involved in backing Sir Martin Broughton's plans . But, in order for the bid to be successful, Hamilton must hope that the consortium to which he has given his backing are able to fend off competition from a major shareholder in his own Formula 1 team.
INEOS: This is a British bid, for a British club
In a statement published on their website, INEOS have vowed that their big-money bid would see £2.5bn put into Chelsea's Charitable Trust to support victims of the war, while £1.75bn is set to be invested "directly into the club" over the next 10 years. They have also promised to make improvements to the club's Stamford Bridge home, as well as investing in the academy "to provide opportunity for talented youngsters to develop into first-class players." The statement adds: "This is a British bid, for a British club. "We believe that a club is bigger than its owners who are temporary custodians of a great tradition. With responsibility to the fans and the community."
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