Lewis Hamilton is among the faces in Formula 1 who comes from a racially disadvantaged group. He has often claimed that being the only black kid during his karting days came with several racial waves of abuse from other people.
He admits that his skin colour has been a huge factor in his struggles before getting into F1. Considering he is the only black driver in the sport’s history, it’s a fact that bothers him, as his relatability with someone hasn’t been at a similar magnitude.
There have been times when the hate he is getting for his skin color has been overwhelming for him. But he claims he never shed a tear as a towering figure in his life once told him that it’s a sign of weakness.
Lewis Hamilton reveals his father told him never to cry
Crying has often been stereotyped as a feminine trait. Many even surprisingly associate gulping the tears away as a sign of ‘manning up’. The seven-time world champion reveals his father also instructed to do him that, and he adhered to it from 2010-2020 until one trigger became his breaking point.
“My dad never let me cry as a kid,” Hamilton said on Jay Shetty’s podcast. “He said it’s a sign of weakness. Don’t let me ever see you shed a tear. I remember just holding back through those difficult times as a kid. In 2020, I cried, I hadn’t cried for at least 10 years or maybe more.”
Hamilton is obviously hinting at George Floyd’s brutal murder as his trigger. The gruesome violence against Floyd also kicked off the Black Lives Matter movement. Hamilton was one of the leading celebrities to support the struggle.
There was a lot of bottled-up pain
Hamilton reveals that once he cried after that long gap, he realized that a lot of bottled-up stuff had come up. He never realized that he had been depressing his feelings all this while. He claims he hardly knew what it actually means to suppress emotions and was doing it out of habit.
However, he thought that the BLM was a time when he had to act up and express himself while taking a knee for the people who are similarly disadvantaged and oppressed.
The seven-time world champion got criticisms from people who never agreed with the BLM movement. But he also got massive backing and influenced some high-profile F1 drivers to join his struggle within the F1.
Also read: Lando Norris Was Once Asked to Sign His Own Driver’s Car Ahead of F1 Race
