Lewis Hamilton is apparently fond of his mother, and in 2021, he even publicly declared to take her last name. However, an unsurfaced journal has revealed that at the beginning of his F1 career, Hamilton did not offer to help his mother pay for her flight tickets so that she could enjoy his debut in Australia.
The writer notes that this was an act of total selflessness, but after the Briton debuted in F1, he didn’t even offer to pay for his mother’s conveyance to watch him race an F1 car for the first time.
In 2007, it was revealed that Carmen had won a television contest awarding her a trip to Sydney to watch her son’s debut race at the Australian Grand Prix. The book implies that Hamilton had neither invited her to the race nor had offered to pay for her despite leading a lavish lifestyle himself.
The 7-time world champion since day one has been seen with his father, Anthony Hamilton, and they appeared to be close. However, his biological mother Larbalestier was often in the shadows and has had minimum public appearances.
It could be because Lewis’s parents got divorced when he was only two years old, but it wasn’t until the age of ten that Lewis moved out to live with his dad. The book reports that this split-up with her son had left Larbalestier heartbroken, but she knew she couldn’t further polish his son’s talent alone.
Lewis Hamilton is planning to change his name to honour his mother Carmen Larbalestier.
“None of you might know that my mum’s name is Larbalestier, and I’m just about to put that in my name.” pic.twitter.com/TaYRn2KL2B
— F1District (@F1District) March 14, 2022
Carmen Larbalestier was heartbroken as she sent her son away
Lewis’s parents had spotted his talent for racing cars at a very young age. But as with any driver, nurturing him into a professional driver was an exhausting and challenging goal.
The 7-time world champion’s parents wanted to see their son bloom and train him for the sport he adored. Although, Carmen revealed that she had to let go because she could not keep up with that hectic life.
In an honest and heart-warming disclosure of the events, Lewis’s mother said, “It was heartbreaking… but I had to let him go and live with his dad for him to become a star. His dad has worked hard to raise the money for Lewis’ career. Without his dad’s constant work, he would not have been able to continue as it’s a very expensive sport.”
However, lately, Lewis has been seen more often with his mother. Even when Lewis received his knighthood from the British crown, it was Larbalestier, who accompanied him.
And now, on social media, Lewis regularly acknowledges the importance of his mother and even stepmother Linda Hamilton. He credits them for raising him right and making him a successful individual today.
