“Support, champion and empower young people”– Lewis Hamilton pledges £20 million from personal wealth for new social cause

“Support, champion and empower young people”– Lewis Hamilton commits £20 million from his personal wealth for ‘Mission 44’.

Lewis Hamilton has been vocal about the underrepresentation of people of colour at the prominent positions in Formula 1 and even in his country.

To counter that situation, the seven-time world champion is spearheading a campaign, ‘Mission 44’ to “support, champion and empower young people from underrepresented groups in the UK.”

Hamilton reportedly has invested £20 million from his personal wealth to function the movement and bring more social justice in the UK. Mercedes has also decided to join hands with Hamilton in this cause.

The Team and Lewis are delighted to announce the launch of Ignite, a joint charitable initiative with the mission of supporting greater diversity and inclusion within motorsport. ✊

— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) July 27, 2021

It would focus on increasing representation from diverse backgrounds in studying STEM and engineering subjects and the wider industry.

“Supporting the ambitions of underrepresented young people has always been important to me and Mission 44 represents my commitment to create real change within this community,” said Hamilton.

“In my early life, I experienced first-hand how coming from an underrepresented background can affect your future but, luckily for me, I was able to overcome those odds through opportunity and support.”

“I want to ensure that other young people from similar backgrounds are able to do the same. I am so grateful that Mercedes are joining me on our initiative Ignite, with the goal to improve representation within the motorsport industry.”

“The findings of The Hamilton Commission and its recommendations have provided us with a fantastic basis to begin our work. Change within the industry is long overdue, but we are now firmly on the journey towards transforming it for the better.”

Mission 44 will follow the Hamilton commission report

Earlier this month, the Hamilton commission initiated by the 36-year-old Briton submitted its findings of the lack of representation of black people in motorsports. It remarked societal reasons to be responsible for it.

“Mission 44 will be committed to directly addressing some of these issues, but it also understands the need to support other underrepresented groups who are at risk of being left behind,” added the statement.

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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