There are so many aspects that make Lewis Hamilton one of a kind in the world of Formula 1. Most notable among those is his ethnicity. The Brit is the only driver of color on the grid since his debut in 2007. Hamilton has been taking active steps to battle this under-representation for years now, but for the longest time, he was fighting this battle alone. The Brit has been subjected to racism multiple times, even as recently as 2021. Hamilton took the opportunity to talk about this systemic issue with an ode to late actor Chadwick Boseman during a trip down memory lane.

Hamilton recently hit a milestone with Mercedes and completed 10 years with the Brackley outfit. During his trip down memory lane on YouTube, Hamilton recalled the influence Boseman had through his role in the movie Black Panther. A role that inspired an entire community that did not have any representation in the vast fictional world of on-screen superheroes.

He recalled, “This is a race in Spa that I won in 2020. This is just after Chadwick Boseman passed away and that is just me saluting him. The reason for it is that as a kid, I was very much into superheroes. But there were no superheroes or model action figures that looked like me. There was none on TV, there was none in books. So naturally, I never ever thought that someone with my skin color could be a superhero.”

“So when you play with these toys but there was not like, ‘oh I could be one. I could be a superhero’ and Chadwick Boseman showed the world and particularly young black kids, young kids of color that they also can be a superhero,” he concluded.

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The first black superhero may go unnoticed by many, but it is a huge step in the right direction for an entire community. This is exactly why the loss of Boseman was enormous. This is exactly why Hamilton paid tribute to the American actor during the 2020 Belgian GP.

Lewis Hamilton dedicated his pole position to Chadwick Boseman during the weekend in Spa

A day before the Belgian GP qualifying, the American actor lost his battle with cancer. The news shocked the world as only a select few knew about Boseman’s battle with the illness. Even Hamilton was devastated by the news of Boseman’s passing. However, he kept his emotions at bay and secured pole position for the race in Spa. He dedicated the pole position to the American actor.

He said, “It’s a really important pole for me because you know I woke up to like the saddest news of Chadwick passing away. And it’s been such a heavy year I think for all of us and that news just really really broke me. So it was really not easy to get back and focus coming in today with that kind of hanging on my heart.”

“But I was like I’ve got to go out there and drive to perfection because you know what he’s done for our people and for what he’s done for you know this superhero shows all these young kids that it’s possible. He was such a shining light so, Wakanda Forever!” He concluded.

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The heartfelt message about Boseman reveals how greatly Hamilton admired the American actor. Even though Boseman isn’t among us, his influence in the world will not die down.