Lewis Hamilton Idolized Raikkonen in his Early Days

Lewis Hamilton coasted to a victory in the French Grand Prix this weekend, facing no challenge from his closest rivals, Vettel and Bottas, as they collided with each other, finishing back in 5 and 7.

In the process, he broke Michael Schumacher’s long-standing record of most victories at different circuits. When informed about it by reporters, he became emotional about the German legend.

“I didn’t know that [the record]. It is news to me. Every time I’m told of these records, I’m blown away by Michael, even more and more”, said Lewis Hamilton.

“He had obviously a long career and incredible statistics and it just brings me back to watching him as a kid.”

The Brit then went on to reveal how he idolized fellow driver and podium-sitter, Kimi Raikkonen. “I was actually just sitting here thinking and I don’t know if Kimi knows, I remember growing up wanting to be in Formula 1.”

“Obviously I was at McLaren since I was 13 and I used to play F1 on the Playstation all the time and I was always Kimi, which is kind of crazy. I wasn’t [Juan Pablo] Montoya, I was always Kimi in his car and I always wanted to race against him”, Hamilton said.

“It’s just crazy how life works and how you get the opportunity to work with some of these legends. I don’t know if they realise the respect that the younger generation will have for them. Maybe you do, maybe you don’t, but yeah”, he added.

This bit of information about Hamilton’s childhood is definitely a surprise to many fans. While he has spoken about his admiration for Schumacher in the past, the part about Kimi Raikkonen was quite a revelation and he is obviously thrilled to be working alongside his hero as his words reflect.