Lewis Hamilton has fully embraced being in Japan by wearing a Super Mario character hat whilst visiting a Nintendo store.

The Formula 1 star is in the country to compete in this weekend’s Japan Grand Prix. But before his focus turns to the grid, he’s allowed his Nintendo obsession to reach new heights in the home of the gaming company.

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The British F1 superstar was spotted in the Mario Kart section of the store – which is unsurprising given what he does for a living.

But, even more hilariously, Hamilton was rocking a huge Toad – a popular Nintendo character with a mushroom-like head – hat as he was photographed by fans.

The Mercedes driver was wearing his own brand’s t-shirt and his braids were poking out the back of the eye-catching head gear as he scanned the store in Universal’s Super Nintendo World park in Osaka.

Last year, Hamilton admitted to being a big gamer.

At the 2022 Canadian Grand Prix, he visited retro gaming stores to try and purchase an original Mario Kart game after rediscovering his old Nintendo 64.

Hamilton wasn’t able to secure a copy of the game, though.

“I just had this itch to play old games,” he said, as per the Daily Star. “I found an old Nintendo 64 in my storage and bought Golden Eye.

“Then, when I landed [in Canada], I went to get Mario Kart but they didn’t have it, so I bought a Sega Genesis and they had the Senna game and I thought, ‘this is perfect’. So I’ve been spending the last couple of nights driving the Senna game.”

However, missing out in Canada hasn’t put him off travelling 75 miles from the Suzuka circuit to immerse himself in the Nintendo store experience.

The seven-time world champion finished third at the Singapore Grand Prix last weekend, whilst rival Max Verstappen finished in fifth.

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Hamilton will be hoping to add to his 103 race wins this weekend.

At least he won’t have any banana skins or blue shells to deal with on the grid!