Lewis Hamilton's 'spirit angel' fan Harry Shaw passes away

Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton's 'spirit angel' fan Harry Shaw passes away

Tragic news.

Martin Macdonald

Tuesday 4 June 2019 12:34

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Lewis Hamilton superfan Harry Shaw, who sent the Mercedes driver a message of support ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix, has sadly passed away at his home in Surrey after losing his long battle with terminal cancer, his parents have confirmed.

Around the time of the race in Barcelona, the pair exchanged correspondence on Instagram, with Hamilton responding to the five-year-old’s message by calling him an “inspiration” and his “spirit angel”. Following the GP, Harry actually got the opportunity to see a Formula 1 car up close after it was sent to his house in Redhill.

The youngster had a Just Giving page set up in his name, and it would be on this page where his parents would announce the passing of their beloved son.

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"On 1 June 2019, five-year-old Harry Shaw took his last breath after a tough 10-month battle against Ewing's Sarcoma; a rare bone cancer,” the message said.

View this post on Instagram

Harry, you don’t know how much this message means to me buddy. Thank you so much, you are my inspiration today Harry. I will try to make you proud. You are such a strong boy, I wish I was as strong as you, I wanted the world to see how strong you are and ask everyone to send their best wishes and prayers to you during this hard time. Sending you love Harry. God bless you. Your friend, Lewis #keepfighting #nevergiveup #wewinandwelosetogether

A post shared by Lewis Hamilton (@lewishamilton) on May 12, 2019 at 2:59am PDT

"Losing Harry means our happy family unit of 4 now becomes 3. We lose our firstborn child; our two-year-old daughter Georgia loses her brother who she will probably never remember; and the wider family lose their first grandchild and nephew.

"We would like to say Harry died in peace and comfort; to an extent he did, dying at home in his own bed surrounded by his toys and the people he loved.

"But the actual truth is the last few weeks of Harry's life were marked by terrible pain and suffering that no human, not least a 5-year-old boy, should endure."

Harry was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma 10 months ago and in April his parents were told he had just one week to live. The Just Giving page set up for him has raised over £230,000.