Lewis Hamilton’s father Anthony Hamilton has played a crucial role in building up the Mercedes star’s career in F1. Apart from doing all his fatherly roles in Lewis’ life, Anthony also acted as Hamilton’s manager for 19 years.
But this strong bond came to an end in the 2010 season in a shocking turn of events. Just before the start of the championship season, Lewis announced that he had parted ways from his father and that Anthony would no longer serve as his manager.
Initially, this move was dubbed as an amicable mutual decision. But later on, a lot had been revealed that did not meet the eyes. The whole drama exploded into a massive fallout between the Hamilton duo. At the core of the entire drama was a huge monetary land deal that Anthony had lost control of.
Amidst the chaos which saw Lewis severely displeased by his father, Anthony claimed that his son owes him $5 Million in commission payments on deals he had negotiated. This further triggered the problems between the father and son.
“It is like something died” – Anthony Hamilton on the fallout
The monetary deal that had caused the fallout between the Hamilton duo lost Lewis $8.75 Million and another $20 Million of his money. The consequences of the deal had made Lewis furious at his father, who he trusted to take care of his financial affairs.
But Anthony was in denial as he believed that the land deal would eventually give out a good result and that his son was overreacting. Lewis meanwhile had consulted professionals on the matter who had suggested the opposite of what Anthony believed.
Moreover, as per Business F1, Hamilton was also furious at his father because he felt that his father had tried to mislead him on the scale of the loss he faced. Saddened by the turn of events between himself and his son, Anthony admitted, “It is a nightmare. It is like something had died. I was shocked and devastated. When he said he no longer wanted me as a manager it came completely out of the blue because we hadn’t fallen out. I didn’t get angry – but I didn’t deal with it very well.” (as quoted by Business F1)
Lewis Hamilton completely snubbed his father from his life
The admission that Anthony made to the public was truly heartbreaking but in ways it turned out to be a beginning of a huge retaliation against Lewis. Business F1 described Anthony Hamilton’s sad admission as “crocodile tears.”
The magazine also reported that the relationship between the Hamilton duo worsened after Anthony claimed his son owed him $5 million in commission payments for his hard work. When the young Briton found out about that, he swore that Anthony would never be involved in his financial affairs ever again.
Thus, snubbing his father completely out of his life. Lewis was adamant about getting a professional manager. A manager whose goal would be to help the young racer succeed professionally. So the young F1 star approached Simon Fuller’s XIX Entertainment, the talent management company that counts renowned athletes such as David Beckham and Andy Murray among its clients.
