“When he’s gone, who will you look up to? – Lewis Hamilton retiring from F1 would not just be a loss for the sport warns his brother

Samriddhi Jaiswal | 09/04/2022
"When he's gone, who will you look up to? - Lewis Hamilton retiring from F1 would not just be a loss for the sport warns his brother

Lewis Hamilton turned 37 in January 2022 and is now nearing his age of retirement but that won’t be a great loss for the sport.

Lewis Hamilton is at the peak of his career in Formula 1. As his age of retirement nears, his brother Nicholas Hamilton fears that it will not just be a loss for the sport.

The Briton is the second-oldest driver on the grid after Alpine’s Fernando Alonso who is 40.

The sports exclusivity is apparent by knowing that Hamilton so far is the only black driver in the history of F1. The Briton has always been committed to fighting against racism and for more diversity in society and the sport.

He himself has faced racism as a child in school and in his karting days. To fight for the cause he set up his own commission called the “End Racism” and “Mission 44.”

Brother of the seven-time world champion, Nicolas Hamilton fears that this is what F1 will lack when the seven-time world champion eventually retires.

Also Read: Bernie Ecclestone believes Lewis Hamilton could retire from F1 after this season

Brother of Lewis Hamilton calls for equal opportunities

Talking about the lack of diversity in motorsport, Nicolas Hamilton said, “Right now motorsport is seen as an industry that is difficult to get involved with.”

Speaking to CNN sport, he said, “You don’t know where to go to get an opportunity. You don’t see any black faces there, or very few, there’s only Lewis at the moment.”

“When he’s gone, who will you look up to? Who will you see?” wonders Nicolas Hamilton. “There aren’t many people, including women. Women love cars just as much as men do. There’s no reason why they shouldn’t have equal opportunities in that sense too.”

Drawing on his own experience, Nicolas recalled that his family fought as a black family as they faced racist abuse. “There are very few people of colour in motorsport, and when there are people of colour, you sometimes see a lot of racism,” he said.

At a test session in Barcelona in 2008, a group of spectators wore black complexions, curly wigs and T-shirts that read “Hamilton’s family”. The following year, a similar incident occurred at the Spanish GP.

Also Read: Lewis Hamilton did not deserve the knighthood solely for F1 as per former F1 CEO

Post Edited By: Samriddhi Jaiswal
Lewis Hamilton Nicolas Hamilton

About the author

Samriddhi Jaiswal

Samriddhi Jaiswal is an F1 editor and writer at The SportsRush. She started her career as a business journalist but soon found her calling in lights out here we go! Samriddhi has been a Ferrari fan even when her interaction with F1 was occasional. Her first real experience with the thrilling sport came when Charles Leclerc clinched his iconic victory in Spa and Monza and painted the track red. Now, a Tifosi, Samriddhi is a hardcore fan of the prancing horse and can relate to the chaos within the Italian camp and also admires Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher. Off the track, she finds her home in books and musical instruments.

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