Lewis Hamilton is a unique & rare kind of personality in F1. With the speeds at which F1 drivers race and withstand G-forces, people barely consider them human. But one thing that makes Hamilton human is the fact that he is a dog lover. While most drivers come to race weekends with their partners, Hamilton brings his partner in crime—his bulldog Roscoe. Although, how proactive has the Mercedes man been in protecting his beloved animals?
Lewis was a part of the 2023 Forbes Iconoclast Summit wherein he got a golden opportunity to showcase his support & love for animals. Hamilton displayed just how much they mean to him by simply the way he reacted to a few PETA activists’ appeals for change.
Lewis Hamilton Positively Reacting to a PETA activists’ Appeal at the Forbes Iconoclast Summit
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The 2023 Forbes Iconoclast Summit featured visionaries and technologists discussing the issues affecting the global economy and markets. Given Mercedes boss Toto Wolff’s business prowess, he was on the panel. And alongside him, Lewis Hamilton was called too. During their discussion, two PETA activists interrupted them by making a call to action.
In a Twitter video from the event, they addressed Hamilton directly, saying, “I know that you don’t want dogs to suffer. The Iditarod race does that.” The Iditarod is an annual long-distance dog-sled race in March over 938 miles in Alaska. And during this year’s race, more than 150 dogs died while participating.
The PETA activists spoke directly to Lewis because he is one of the notable faces of F1. And the race is sponsored by GCI, a subsidiary of Liberty Media, the owner of F1. They asked him to use his “influence to please talk to Greg Maffei [CEO of Liberty Media] and ask them to sever their ties.”
PETA supporters joined Lewis Hamilton's panel at the Forbes Iconoclast Summit & urged him to denounce F1's association with Iditarod, a dog-sled race in which over 150 dogs have died. Hamilton, a vegan athlete & dedicated dog dad, responded positively to their heartfelt appeal. pic.twitter.com/HroU7XVVmA
— Sir Lewis Updates (@LH44updates) June 13, 2023
Read More: Lewis Hamilton Celebrates His Sensational F1 Milestone With Roscoe
Even though he was in the middle of a conversation and was taken by surprise by the sudden interruption, Lewis made it a point to stop and listen to what the PETA supporters had to say. When they appealed to him and said he was an ally, he gave them a thumbs-up in a silent gesture to say that he supported them. This small gesture won over the internet.
Fans Deem Lewis Hamilton “has a golden heart” after Forbes-PETA Showing
Although Hamilton couldn’t have done anything in that exact instant to stop The Iditarod, his thumbs-up was all the assurance the activists needed to know they’d been heard. And fans couldn’t stop praising Hamilton for hearing them out.
One user said: “That’s what real men do. 🤍”
That’s what real men do. 🤍
— Mrs. Dawn Butler (@dawnbutler2018) June 13, 2023
Others commented about his compassion.
Lewis is such a compassionate man. He doesn’t want to support the deadly dog race. Thank you Lewis and activists! ❤️❤️❤️
— Tricia Lebkuecher (@TriciaLeb) June 13, 2023
What a great guy! Hope he can help end the cruel Iditarod for good.
— Heather Moore (@HMOORE123) June 13, 2023
A few of them, like the activists, urged him to use his influence to get through to Greg Maffei and get The Iditarod banned.
@LewisHamilton Please use your influence to urge @gregmaffei to cut ties with the deadly Iditarod. People think it’s a harmless race but dogs are forced to run thousands of miles and over 150 dogs have died during the grueling and totally unnecessary race.
— Wendy (@CastW26) June 13, 2023
Sir @LewisHamilton has a golden heart for animals. 💛Hopefully he heard this plea to use his platform to help dogs who are suffering and dying by urging @F1 boss to cut all ties with the abusive Iditarod dog race.#RaceCarsNotDogs
— Shalin Gala (@ShalinGala) June 13, 2023
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@LewisHamilton is clearly a compassionate human being. I hope he uses his influence to urge @F1 and @gregmaffei to sever ties with this blood race. Lewis loves his own companion dog and even shakes his head “no” when the activist asks if he wants dogs to suffer. Thank you, Lewis!
— Maria Leonardi (@effin_maria) June 13, 2023
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WATCH THIS STORY | Lewis Hamilton’s Unique Relationship With Wild Animals
Knowing Lewis Hamilton, he will do all he can to help PETA and its cause. In the aftermath of the race, PETA became a shareholder in F1 to push GCI to stop The Iditarod. With their share in F1, along with Hamilton’s support, will PETA be successful in stopping The Iditarod once and for all?