After years of shattering records in Formula 1, Lewis Hamilton explains that he has discovered his true calling, which isn’t merely to race cars.
The British driver is known for his unwavering commitment to causes he believes in, such as combating racism and encouraging diversity in Formula 1.
Lewis Hamilton discussed his ambitions with Sky Sports F1 ahead of last week’s F1 season opener, the 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix.
“That’s my role here I think to continue to hold those conversations, sit with Stefano (Domenicali) and say what are you doing and how can we work together?” the seven-time world champion said.
“It goes back to bringing people on the journey rather than calling people out and unfortunately it takes a lot of yapping but I think people seem more keen to be on the journey together and they empathise more with it and say yes, we can do a better job,” he added.
“I’ve got this platform and I’m able to apply pressure in an uncomfortable way sometimes,” the seven-time World Champion acknowledges, “but it’s also a true opportunity to spark that change, and that for me is more fulfilling than any title.”
“My goal is that in the next five, ten years you’re looking back at the sport and I am watching TV, hopefully with my kids, and they see young women engineers and mechanics and they’ll know there is an opportunity.”
Hamilton is quite active on social media, with the exception of a month-long hiatus after Abu Dhabi Grand Prix heartbreak last year, and he revealed how he views the medium and how he utilizes it to communicate.
“When I was younger and first getting into social media it was very much about building up your platform because obviously the more followers you have the more influence you have.”
“Then as I started getting older, realising that when I press this button it’s coming up on other people’s phones, what do I want that post to say.”
“I was like I want to take a step back, I want to re-evaluate my life, to re-evaluate where I am and I came to the realisation that I’m not going to let that define my career, it’s one moment but there’s going to be other great moments moving forward.
“I think as I started getting older, I started thinking I am winning these Championships but what does it really mean and I realised that these championships are very rewarding personally but they’re not changing anything,” the Briton maintained.
Speaking of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, and how it felt losing the Title, the 36-year old said: “You have another credit to your name but it doesn’t change the world, it doesn’t change the fact we still have wars, we still have racial injustice, there are still people being abused there are all sorts of things out there so what are we going to use this medium for, what are we going to use this platform for.
“I guess I really discovered my purpose, it’s not just being a racing driver,” Hamilton concluded.
