Lewis Hamilton Reveals His Sole Purpose in F1: “It’s Not About the Championship…”

For the last 16 years in F1, one thing which has been a constant feature of the grid is having only a sole black driver lining up against his rivals. The driver with a Grenadian heritage, Lewis Hamilton, has never let the color of his skin hold him back from achieving the goals he set out as a child. It was not a cakewalk for the Briton to reach the pinnacle of motorsport, as he was the victim of racism on his journey.

However, once Hamilton puts down his visor, every noise cancels out, and he finds himself in his element. His achievements to date are unparalleled and arguably make him the face of F1.

All the triumph and glory come second to the mission at the heart of the Mercedes ace. In a pre-season interview, Lewis Hamilton shared his mindset about going into the championship by answering a fan question.

The ardent follower asked, “Hey Lewis, what do you think will be the biggest challenge for you and the team this year?” 

“It is a really weird time in the world, and what the biggest challenge in my mind is, it’s not about the championship, necessarily. It is not really, it’s not a normal year.”

“Today we are seeing an opportunity for change and my race is to be, you know, supporting that. My race is gonna, it’s in line with inclusivity and diversity, pushing for that. So, that’s what I’m racing for,” replied Lewis Hamilton.

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Be it on the track competing in an F1 race, or off the track in a race for promoting diversity, the driver who will be a safe bet to concur both is indeed Lewis Hamilton.

Lewis Hamilton leads by example

The Stevenage-born racing driver was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth and faced a lot of struggles to fund his junior career. Notably, his dad, Anthony Hamilton, jumped between multiple jobs to keep the dream alive for his precious young one.

As a result, even after achieving seven-world titles, Lewis Hamilton remains to be very humble and realizes his privileges. It baffles him to face the fact that after all these years, there is no other black driver that has progressed to reach the premier class of motorsport.

Hence, Lewis Hamilton took the matter into his own hands by setting up the ‘Hamilton Commission’. The goal of the organization is to present opportunities while simultaneously addressing the underrepresentation of Black people in motorsport.

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In the pre-season interview, he further added, “I’m racing for all of you out there who may feel like you don’t have a voice, you know shine my blue light as and make as big a noise as I can to try and affect change. The only way I can do that, is by being in it, changing it from within.”

“I’m talking about my industry. I’m talking about the motorsport, the motor industry, trying to create a ripple effect that encourages other businesses globally. That’s my at the core of my goal,” he concluded.

The 37-year-old never backs down from a challenge and puts his heart into the things he believes in. Lewis Hamilton has always been outspoken about social injustices and the values he holds dear to his core.

Do you think we will see another black driver on the F1 grid soon? Let us know.

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