“Kids Kept Calling Me the N-Word”: Lewis Hamilton Once Let His Guard Down to Reveal Scarring Childhood Trauma

Bullying at young ages was, and in some places, is widely prevalent. Things can get extremely traumatizing for the victim, creating a lot of issues that can remain unresolved even after a long time. The seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton had faced similar issues as well. He describes his schooling years as the most traumatizing years in his life, after being subject to constant bullying and beatings.

Lewis Hamilton opens up on his childhood trauma

The single most outspoken driver on the grid, the Mercedes driver, is never one to shy away from hard topics. About a year ago, he appeared on the Jay Shetty podcast and opened up about the horrifying experience he went through during his younger years.

“School was the most traumatizing and difficult part of life. I was bullied at the age of 6. At that particular school, I was one of three people of color.” The seven-time world champion continues, “The headmaster had it out for us (the three colored kids), and particularly me, I’d say.”

The headmaster wasn’t the only person who seemed to target Hamilton based on his race, as other kids ganged up on him too. The Brit opened up about the issues he couldn’t discuss honestly with his parents. “These kids kept calling me the n-word. I got bullied and beaten up at school. I wasn’t able to defend myself.” Hamilton kept these problems he was facing at school to himself, as he didn’t want his father to perceive him as not being strong.

Thanks to his passion for driving, he was able to channel all his negative emotions, put his helmet on, and show everyone on track. Because of this, Lewis Hamilton says he feels grateful for all the hardships life threw at him. “I’m so grateful for that journey. That’s what built me into the person that I am today.”

Read more: ‘Jumped 80 Times Out of Planes’: Lewis Hamilton’s Heroics Left His Father Questioning Genetic Make-Up

Unfortunately, even after becoming a seven-time world champion, people tend to throw abuse towards the Mercedes driver even in 2023. Perhaps this, combined with the difficulties all colored people face is the burning motivation that kindles him to do everything in his power to improve the lives of other underprivileged people.

Lewis Hamilton’s contributions outside of Formula 1

As much as he has contributed to the sport of Formula One, he has done so much more outside the track as well. Be it sponsoring a table in the Met Gala for black, talented designers, or taking a knee for George Floyd, Lewis is extremely outspoken about his stances.

He pioneered the Hamilton Commission, which sought to study the inclusion of colored people within motorsport. Shockingly, only 3% of non-white people were working within a team of thousands. The study finds that this disparity is because teams tend to hire from select colleges, and these colleges are usually prevalently white. Even the few colored people that exist, according to Hamilton, find it twice as hard to get a job within motorsports.

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However, after his efforts, we are starting to see more women and more colored people within the sport. Despite this, when we see damning stats like this, we can just sit back and wonder how many Lewis Hamiltons of the world have we lost due to the lack of opportunities for the underprivileged?