Lewis Hamilton F1 News: Mercedes star admits HIDING major emotional outburst from his own father

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, Singapore, 2024 — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 Legends

Hamilton admits HIDING major emotional outburst from his own father

Lewis Hamilton has been speaking about his early life as a racer

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Monday 30 September 2024 09:54

Lewis Hamilton has shared details of an emotional outburst following the death of an F1 legend in his early racing career.

The 39-year-old is a seven-time Formula 1 world champion, and sits atop the all-time lists of race victories and pole positions.

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Hamilton has raced in the sport since 2007, when he made the step up having won the 2006 GP2 championship under the watchful eye of Fred Vasseur.

The Brit will once again team up with Vasseur next season, when he follows in the footsteps of another seven-time champion in Michael Schumacher by joining Ferrari.

Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher are largely regarded as the GOAT's of the sport

Hamilton's memories of Senna

Schumacher and Hamilton are often mentioned as the two greatest drivers of all-time, but there are others who could put their names into that category, including Juan Manuel Fangio, Max Verstappen and Ayrton Senna.

Senna was Hamilton's hero as the 39-year-old grew up in Stevenage, with the three-time champion's electric pace and mesmerising championship battles providing the Brit with inspiration.

Ayrton Senna lost his life at the 1994 San Marino GP

Senna tragically lost his life at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, aged just 34, and now Hamilton has been speaking about his lasting memory of that fateful day at Imola.

"I was with my dad, we were working on the go-kart," Hamilton revealed in an interview with The Times.

"I remember going to the front and crying, bawling my eyes out. I couldn’t cry in front of my dad, he was not that kind of guy."

Hamilton also reflected on the racism and bullying he faced as a child growing up in the early 90s, and the conversations he had with his father about it.

"There was no escaping it," he added. "You experience it at school, in the parks, walking through town. I didn’t understand it and my parents never spoke to me about it.

"They never explained what was going on. My dad was just, ‘Keep your head down, hold it in, don’t say anything, just beat them on the track, that’s all you can do.'"

F1 Max Verstappen Lewis Hamilton Michael Schumacher Ayrton Senna Juan Manuel Fangio