“No Other Father Was Doing That”: Lewis Hamilton Revealed the Secret Ingredient Behind His 7 F1 Championships

Lewis Hamilton’s journey to Formula 1 has been extraordinary. The driver came from a middle-class family into a sport of the rich, thrashing away the stereotypes as he kept climbing up the ladder. And one person whom he credited for his success is his father, Anthony.

Lewis has credited his father with instilling in him a strong work ethic and a determination to succeed. He has also spoken about how much he values his father’s advice and support. But more than that, he was his mentor and manager in the early days of the driver’s career. 

In a press conference in 2018, after his fifth driver’s championship, Lewis talked about mentoring in brief. Recalling an on-track incident with his father, he said, “I always remember driving around Ride House. My dad was the only father that would go out on the track, and he would go and stand where when I was eight years old, he would go and stand where the quickest kid was sitting…”

“And my dad would go and stand where he was breaking, and he would move several meters down and say, this is where you have to break. No other father was doing that. So I’d go around and I’d try and break at that point, and I’d spin off and crash spin-off and crash, and eventually, I could do it. And that’s been at the core of I’ve always been known as a late-breaker,” he added.

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Lewis couldn’t be stopped at five titles, as he won two more and looks determined to get the record eighth as well. However, coming from a humble background, he knows things that need to be valued.

Relationship between Lewis Hamilton and his father

From the looks of it, given how his father is often present in the paddock and has been the driving factor behind Hamilton’s success, one can agree that the relationship between the duo is close. However, it wasn’t the same earlier, and the two have had a few lows over the years.

In 2010, Hamilton and his father had a fallout, and they did not speak for several months. In an interview, Hamilton said that the break in their relationship was because of a disagreement over his management team. The Mercedes driver also talks about the strict discipline that his father had over him, both on and off the track, which made him look for escape elsewhere.

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But given the current dynamics after a brief period of success, things look great between the duo. Often seen together, the two have let go of their differences and supported each other.