Lewis Hamilton buys private jet to keep his long-distance love alive

Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton has splashed out £20million on a private jet to make it easier to spend time with his girlfriend, Nicole Scherzinger.

The Daily Mail reports that the couple spend a great deal of time apart as Hamilton lives in Monaco, while Nicole is based in Los Angeles. Both of them travel all over the world for work.

The couple briefly split in 2011, reportedly as a result of spending so much time apart. So to make sure that doesn't happen again, Lewis has treated himself to a red Bombardier CL-600, which cruises at 500mph and should make those transatlantic flights a little easier to schedule.

The Daily Mail reports that the plane is equipped with every possible luxury to make sure that passengers can travel in comfort and style. There's a pull-out bed, several plasma TV screens and a bar. It even has a personalised 'number plate' as Hamilton has changed the official registration to G-LCDH, which stands for Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton.

Lewis took delivery of the jet at Isle of Man Airport last month - saving himself a hefty VAT bill as the island's authorities charge less tax than on the mainland. He then took his first flight to Stuttgart in Germany, to visit his new Formula 1 team.

When not in use, the jet can be chartered for a whopping £10,000 an hour.

However, last year Nicole spent a reported £750,000 on flights to see her boyfriend - so we imagine that they'll be using it fairly frequently.

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