Lewis Hamilton’s business shuts down after losing millions as 150 staff lose their jobs

Lewis Hamilton has endured a tricky first season with Ferrari following his move from Formula 1 rivals Mercedes and his off-track activities have now been hit in another blow

Lewis Hamilton has endured a really difficult season so far(Image: Getty Images)

Lewis Hamilton’s restaurant chain Neat Burger has been forced to close the doors on some of its restaurants, after losing MILLIONS. The Ferrari star set up the chain back in 2019 alongside Leonardo DiCaprio, among others.

But it has been a very difficult few years for the outlet since its inception. Their losses sat at an eye-watering £7.9m back in 2022 – a £3.2m increase from the year before.

Neat Burger have been attempting to turn the tide by closing half of their London-based stores, while a New York eatery was also shut down. A statement at the time read: “We are concentrating our efforts on our best performing restaurants — we believe that sometimes taking a step back is necessary to make a bigger leap forward.”

But things have not improved since then and it has now been confirmed that Neat Burger has made the decision to pull out of the UK market entirely. A spokesperson for the chain said: “We have no further comment at this time, other than to confirm that the business has taken the difficult decision to close its UK restaurants.”

150 members of staff are expected to lose their jobs as the restaurants close their doors. It comes after the Camden branch was given a two out of five food hygiene rating – albeit bosses intervened, with the changes seeing the restaurant eventually awarded top marks after improvement and re-assessment.

The news of the closure is just the latest blow that Hamilton has had to consider. The 40-year-old has endured a very tough debut campaign with Ferrari.

He has not finished higher than fifth after five races of the season, while he was disqualified in China. And it appears that Hamilton is already writing off his chances of the title.

Speaking after a seventh-placed finish in Saudi Arabia, Hamilton said: “Nothing positive to take, except for Charles finishing on the podium, which is great for the team. It was horrible, not enjoyable at all. I was just sliding around. I didn’t have grip.

Neat Burger have been forced to close ALL of their UK stars(Image: Getty Images)

“First stint, massive understeer, car not turning and then massive [tyre degradation]. The second stint, slightly better balance but still just no pace. Pretty bad. At the moment there’s no fix. So, this is how it’s going to be for the rest of the year. It’s going to be painful.”

Hamilton has just under a fortnight to consider his next race. F1’s next race takes place in Miami on May 4.