Lewis Hamilton and Michael Jordan are rated among the greatest of all time in their respective sports. While the Chicago Bulls legend retired from Basketball around 22 years ago, Hamilton is still eyeing to extend his glory in Formula 1.
But there is no doubt that both athletes have left a massive legacy and will be remembered for time immemorial. Moreover, there is also mutual respect between the two legends too.
Hamilton has often described how inspired he feels by Jordan. On the other hand, the latter showed keen interest in the 103 Grand Prix winner when he visited Miami to watch the Formula 1 race.
He even made the extra effort to meet the seven-time world champion and posed for a photograph while Tom Brady and David Beckham joined the frame.
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Lewis Hamilton ranks his father at par with Michael Jordan
The Mercedes star was indeed happy to see Jordan visiting an F1 race. The six-time NBA champion saw open-wheel racing for the first time back then, and after that, he spent a significant amount of time with Hamilton.
The 38-year-old shared a photo of Jordan and his father, Anthony Hamilton, and captioned it: “Two of my heros.” Thus, ranking Hamilton senior at par with the most renowned Basketball player of all time.
It surely gives away that Hamilton regards his father on a very high pedestal as a person that he ranked him as one of the most remarkable athletes of all time. But why’s that? The Mercedes superstar’s father made several sacrifices to see his son perform on this stage.
The pivotal role Anthony Hamilton played
Hamilton picked up karting at a very young age. As soon he was gifted a go-kart by his parents, he was on different tracks, competing for titles and victories. He surely had a talent and was often dominating over his opponents.
However, making a career in F1 needs some personal finances to keep going in junior leagues before a big team spots you and wants to sponsor you. That’s what happened with Hamilton. He comes from a modest family, but that didn’t break their will to strive ahead.
Reportedly, Anthony picked up several jobs only to fund his son’s karting career. On top of that, there was abundant racism faced by the future F1 star. Yet, none of it could stop him from winning. It probably felt like to others that it’s the only thing he knows.
His family’s struggles, especially his father’s, ended when Ron Dennis spotted him and wanted to bring him into their fold. The rest is history; now Hamilton is the most successful F1 driver ever.
