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.
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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.
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