Lewis Hamilton: My Story

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Hamilton’s move to Mercedes had paid off better and earlier than he ever expected. After a building year in 2013, the advent of F1’s hybrid engine regulations brought immediate success, and a car miles clear of the rest of the field. Hamilton won the championship in 2014 and 2015. Hamilton, who does not yet have a contract for next year, added he would "love to stay" in F1 and wanted to continue to campaign for change when it comes to human rights, diversity and e The rain came down more heavily with two laps to go, and Hamilton ran wide, letting Sebastian Vettel’s Toro Rosso slip ahead into fifth place. Now the title was in Massa’s hands. Wallace wrote that Hamilton’s “activism has moved the world”, adding: “Lewis’s mental preparation, his aura, his ability to capitalise on every opportunity to use his platform to drive out racism are more than just a model for race-car drivers and other athletes - he’s an inspiration for everyone."

Given a grounded upbringing by his dedicated father in unremarkable Stevenage, Lewis tells about how he first tried out go-karting while on a cut-price family holiday in Ibiza. In his book he gives the real version of events at a motor sport dinner where, as a nine-year-old wearing a borrowed suit, he approached McLaren team boss Ron Dennis with the immortal words that were to change his life forever. I’m baffled as to what is driving him,” Wolff told the press. “The actual sequence of events is that Horner, through a mutual agency, asked for Hamilton’s details to discuss a possible seat. That’s the extent of it – Horner was the one who investigated his availability.” Mercedes got better and better as the season went on, following Hamilton, who overpowered Ferrari’s dispirited Sebastian Vettel to take the driving title with two races to go, then scored victories in the final two events to vanquish Ferrari and seal the team championship for Mercedes. Three years later, after Hamilton had won his second British kart championship, Dennis signed him up to McLaren’s driver development programme. Whitmarsh was put in charge of overseeing Hamilton’s career.He turned out to be the best rookie there has ever been,” says Paddy Lowe, then McLaren’s technical director. “Because actually, more remarkable almost than seven championships and the most wins, his first half-season is just the most extraordinary in history.” The 35-year-old superstar’s record-setting season, achieved with 11 wins, 10 poles and 14 podiums, made Hamilton statistically the most successful F1 driver ever. At the end of it, his 14-year, 266-race career had thus far produced 95 wins, 98 poles, 165 podiums, as well as putting him atop several other categories, with no signs of him of slowing down. After years of trying to impress Dennis, Hamilton finally got a "sensational" deal with McLaren in 1998. Lewis is one of the icons of sport worldwide, and that’s something we all have to accept. But his heart is in the right place, and his heart does not forget, and that’s really nice.” The one constant in this tumultuous time was the continuing domination of Lewis Hamilton, who won his seventh driving title and led his Mercedes team to a seventh consecutive constructors’ championship.

I often try to imagine myself in Nic’s position. I do not think I would be anywhere near as strong as him. There’s just so much to admire in him. So, whatever I am doing, I say to myself, ‘If you think it’s hard to do this, then think again.’ I think about Nic’s strength of character and that gives me added strength. So Nic is my inspiration – and that helps me a lot. But, in fact, my whole family are very close. We do everything we can together, and we always have done, but as I grow older and become more independent each year, I know that is probably going to change a bit – but not all that much. We have an intense bond and are a strong family. It helps us remain as normal as possible, to stay focused on the right things and not be distracted by all the stuff going on around us. We are a team, my family. We always have been. I like to think of my parents’ home as my power station, the place where I can go to seek support, rest and reassurance in the good things in life. In 2022 Sir Lewis Hamilton failed to win a single F1 Grand Prix for the first time in his career. He was classified sixth in the drivers’ standings, two positions behind his young Mercedes team mate George Russell. In the 22-race season. Hamilton made 10 trips to the podium (including five second places) and scored points in all but two races. The Mercedes team was third in the Constructors’ Championship, behind Red Bull and Ferrari, but the perceived plight of the sport’s most successful driver was headline news.And then constant [jibes], the things that are thrown at you, like bananas, people that would use the [racial slur] just so relaxed. People calling you 'half-caste' and just really not knowing where you fit in," the 38-year-old said. "That for me was difficult, and then when you go into history class and everything you learn in history there are no people of colour in the history they were teaching us. So I was thinking, Where are the people who look like me?' There were stressful days but it never lingered. There were times you wanted to go in different directions but ultimately we all wanted to win." When Lewis came to stay His third world championship - matching the tally of his boyhood hero Ayrton Senna - confirmed that Lewis Hamilton had joined the ranks of the sport's greatest drivers.