Lewis Hamilton mulls riding Virgin

Formula 1 champ Lewis Hamilton is planning to stump a cool £625,000 for five seats on a Virgin Galactic flight, according to the Evening Standard. Hamilton will be joined on the space jaunt by girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger, dad Anthony, stepmum Linda and half brother Nicholas. A source said: “He is on the way to becoming the …

[Ginger]

off for a ride

I'm sure he'll accidentally give his family the wrong date so he can have those 5 seats and his lovely lady all alone up there

[Anonymous Coward]

His contract allows this?

I can't believe his F1 contract allows him to do anything so potentially dangerous until he retires. Sounds like a load of cobblers to me. If his contract _does_ permit him to do crazy stunts then McLaren & Mercedes need some better lawyers it seems!

[Flugal]

No chance

I think it's unlikely Evil Ron would allow Lewis to do this. Look what happened when he let Juan Pablo Montoya play "tennis". Ron would rather be forced to be honest about something than let "his boy" risk his life in a home made upper-atmosphere-bothering machine.

I would look forward to the RonSpeak© reason for refusing the request though.

Mines the one with the goldfish bowl helmet attached...and the toolkit unattached.

[blackworx]

Lewis Hamilton mulls riding Virgin

Kindly refrain from this sort of headline on a Thursday. My weekly replacement keyboard doesn't normally arrive until Friday afternoon.

[Anonymous Coward]

A Virgin spokesperson said: "We’d be delighted to take Sigourney back to visit the Aliens."

Um... they did watch those movies right?

[Warhelmet]

Travel Insurance?

No, I'm not underwriting that particular trip, I'm afraid. Makes scuba diving and winter sports look positively low risk.

Ron Dennis - don't let him go. Sunk costs and all that.

[Graham Jordan]

sex in space.

Has anyone done it yet? Because by my thinking a lottery win, stumping up £600k for 5 seats to hump your misses for five minutes to be the first one to do it, seems a good use of funds.

Now to win that lottery.

And get me a girlfriend.

And break my virginity.

[WarrenG]

What a sneaky topic....

Type your comment here — plain text only, no HTML

[Dave The Cardboard Box]

Nicole Scherzinger?

Is she fulfilling the role of that kindly old lady your Mum sat you beside when you got a bus ride on your own when you were ten? I'm guessing yes.

Paris because her plastic surgery is less likely to perish during sex (just).

[Tim Russell]

Hmmm, choices

Would I rather being joining the 100mile club with Sigourney or Lewis's missus.....

[Jon H]

Want a few test runs first!

Even if I could afford it, I'd want a few good successful trips under their belt before I risked it! I mean look at NASA, they do still have accidents! It IS rocket science after all.

[Anonymous Coward]

@blackworx

If El Reg operated a rating system for comments then I predict yours would go all the way up to 11.

[Paul]

Shatner...

"I do want to go up but I need guarantees I'll definitely come back"

As its Sub-orbital, I'm guessing gravity would be your guaruntee.

In what manner you return however, is not.

[Anonymous John]

@ Want a few test runs first!

At least 50 test flights are planned.

Paris Hilton as she's been reported as an early passenger.

[Mr C]

"Houston, we have a problem"

"Your call is in a queue and we will answer as soon as one of our advisers is available..."

...

...

...

...

...

...

"Good evenings, Sir. My name is Chandra and you are through to number one internet providings company VirginMedia. What is the problems with your internet providings, Sir?"

[Giles Jones]

Why not, they've earned it

Anthony Hamilton worked hard to get Lewis where he is today and hardly from a privileged background either.

[Ron Eve]

@His contract allows this?

"I can't believe his F1 contract allows him to do anything so potentially dangerous..."

You do know what he does for a living don't you?

/Paris - - she could work her passage.

[Anonymous Coward]

re. His contract allows this?

Probably. Remember this is not "real" (orbital) spaceflight with thousands of tonnes of exploding chemicals underneath you, the maximum speed will be around 3,000 mph (compared to 17,000 for an orbital vehicle) and there's no re-entry to go through (converting the 17,000 mph worth of kinetic enrgy to heat) so the main dangers of spaceflight just aren't present.

Compared to racing at 200mph with other cars all around you and lots of solid objects nearby, it's probably a lot safer.

[Fab De Marco]

@sex in space

I suppose it would be alright for the first few times but after a while it would be like living in a snow globe

[Kit]

Into space?! With who?!

Who in their right minds would go up into space on the same ship as Signourney Weaver?! Surely thats just asking for all sorts of really nasty trouble? Ripped apart, burned, blown up, left behind, melted, squashed, impregnated, frozen, asphyxiated, scared shitless, beaten up, shot etc etc etc.

They should get the Virgin spokesperson quoted to sit next to her, see how funny she thinks it is once she's encased in alien gunk and then had a foot long tongue shoved down her throat...

Mines the one with the acid proof lining that I just cant get to like any self respecting soon to be slaughtered nameless extra.

[Scott Mckenzie]

At least...

...space might just be large enough to contain his Ego.

Best place for him!

[Dave]

Go

Go, Go Lewis. As far as possible.

Sub-orbital my arse - if I get half a chance I'll make sure that it gets filled up with some 'premium' rocket fuel that day.

<- Icon for what I wish to see near that jumped-up prat: surely the least-deserving winner ever.

[Duncan Cummings]

Virgin Galactic

I could never fly with something called Virgin, Who wants to fly in an aeroplane that won't go all the way?

Jokes aside, I wish I was him. I wonder if my better half will let me mortgage the house and buy a ticket?

[Anonymous Coward]

Nasa Sutra??

Has been around for years, so I doubt he would be the first, even if they both had the room and the time to squeeze into the toilet.

At least if they decided to do it in their seats they would not look as revolting as the 40-somethings sat in front of me on the China Southern Airlines 747 from Amsterdam to Hong Kong last month,, YUCK!!!

Flame?? ROCKET EXHAUST!!!!!!