It takes a great deal to achieve the level of success Lewis Hamilton has in a sport as limited as Formula 1. This sport is tough. Only 20 people in the world at a time have the privilege of driving the fastest land machines on the planet, and against all odds, Hamilton made it in 2007. The fact that he’s in his 17th F1 season is testament enough to how good he is at his craft, and that’s not to say he’s had it easy.

Growing up in a middle-class family, and as the only kind of color in an industry dominated by fair-skinned people, he had to find his own way to the top. Now that he has and knows he has the power to influence others, he’s been continuously working for the welfare of his community. And young drivers aren’t the only ones who’ve taken inspiration from the seven-time champion. 

Lewis Hamilton helped a McLaren young gun stay true to themselves

While Hamilton was making waves in F1 when he first started, a young kid like him was going through a hard time. Like Hamilton—or rather, because of him—Joe Onyuma found his dream and is now McLaren‘s social media executive. Racism has been around since time immemorial, and without realizing it, people like Onyuma have been on the receiving end of it. That’s where Hamilton’s influence came in and helped Onyuma feel like himself no matter what.

Taking inspiration from Hamilton, Onyuma has himself become an influential figure, and F1.com took the opportunity to make his untold story known. In his interview, Onyuma talked about the challenges he faced growing up. He said, “There was unconscious bias. I felt like maybe, sometimes, within certain scenarios, people might assume certain things of me before they met me. Something I did hear a lot growing up was, ‘Oh, you act so White.’ It wasn’t offensive to me, but looking back on it now, I’m just a bit confused by it.”

He revealed how Hamilton impacted his life, explaining, “Initiatives that have been shared by people like Lewis Hamilton around diversity and inclusion have been really priceless. I know his actions around Black Lives Matter in 2020 were very significant in leading the sport forward and bringing these issues to the forefront of people’s minds. Seeing someone like Lewis being so successful growing up was really good to see. As a kid, seeing is believing.”

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It’s true. Hamilton is an inspiration to young kids all around. He’s advocated for inclusivity not just in terms of Black representation in motorsport but also in women’s representation.

Lewis Hamilton commends Susie Wolff for her actions to make F1 more inclusive

The seven-time champion has been fighting for equality and inclusion since he stepped into the sport, but even more so recently. F1 isn’t like other sports where males may have a competitive advantage over females, which should ideally result in men and women competing together. That hasn’t been the case in F1 because, in its 73-year history, it’s not seen a single full-time female driver. However, initiatives like the F1 Academy—an all-female single-seater competition—are helping this case.

With Susie Wolff at the helm of the Academy launched this season, Hamilton believes F1 is on the right track to help women get into the sport. The Brit said, “I think it’s been great having Susie in there, who was a phenomenal driver, so has the perspective from a driver side, but also she’s been a team owner. She’s really fighting for that inclusivity. So I think it’s really great the steps that were taken and really happy to hear that all of Formula 1 is on board.”

It’s evident Lewis Hamilton has changed more lives than one. What are your thoughts on everything he has done to make motorsport and F1 more inclusive?

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