“Hadn’t Cried for 10 Years”: Lewis Hamilton Bottled Up Emotions to Avoid Upsetting His Father

Lewis Hamilton, unfortunately, is the only black driver in the sport. Using his platform, however, Hamilton has done a lot to give back to the underprivileged and minorities, especially those of color. Be it in the world of fashion or the world of Formula 1, the seven-time world champion can be traced back to the success of a lot of underprivileged talent.

Naturally, when the tragic death of George Floyd occurred in 2020, Lewis Hamilton was extremely impacted. In a podcast with popular author Jay Shetty, he revealed that the infamous incident was one of the toughest things he has had to endure in his life.

Lewis Hamilton’s Despair

Anthony Hamilton, the seven-time world champion’s father, has been an integral part of his driving career. One of the principles that Anthony Hamilton taught his son was to never show a sign of weakness and to never cry. Since it’s been ingrained in the Mercedes driver, he has not been one to show emotions or cry out in public. However, this changed with the George Floyd incident.

Speaking to Jay Shetty, Lewis Hamilton opened up. “My dad never let me cry as a kid. He said that’s a sign of weakness. He said ‘don’t ever let me see you shed a tear.'” He continues, “In 2020, I hadn’t cried for at least 10 years. There was a lot of bottled-up stuff that had come up. I didn’t even know I was suppressing the pain I was feeling. I remember being on my knees thinking, what is happening to the world.”

However, this emotional episode made one thing clear for the Mercedes driver. That was when he made up his mind to be outspoken about these issues, because according to him, “If I don’t do it, nobody’s going to do it.”

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Around the same time, Hamilton was also inspired to create the Hamilton Commission, which aimed to improve the diversity in motorsport. He has been instrumental in creating the diversity charter, which all teams have to follow.

The Hamilton Commission and subsequent results

The Hamilton Commission, after conducting thorough studies, found out that only 3% of all employees wear black. They cited many reasons for this, including hiring from specific colleges that are predominantly white-dominated.

Ever since then, Lewis Hamilton has called out multiple teams, including Ferrari on their lack of diversity. “There’s still no diversity at Ferrari, I mean, hardly any. If you look at Ferrari who have thousands of people working with them. I’ve heard no word of Ferrari saying that they hold themselves accountable and this is what they’re going to do for the future.” 

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However, thanks to his efforts, there has been a significant increase in the proportion of underrepresented communities in the world of F1.