Lewis Hamilton says he was racially abused at school

1 year ago 73

Mercedes operator Lewis Hamilton talks to squad main Toto Wolff

Lewis Hamilton says helium had bananas thrown astatine him and was regularly the taxable of radical maltreatment astatine school.

The Mercedes driver, 38, says his schoolhouse days were "probably the astir traumatising and astir hard portion of my life".

Hamilton said: "I was already being bullied astatine the property of six.

"At that peculiar school, I was 1 of 3 kids of colour and conscionable bigger, stronger, bullying kids were throwing maine astir a batch of the time."

Speaking to the On Purpose podcast, the seven-time Formula 1 champion elaborate a fig of racially abusive presumption that helium was referred to astatine school.

Hamilton added: "Not knowing wherever you acceptable in, that for maine was difficult.

"When you spell into past classes and determination are nary radical of colour successful the past they were teaching us. I was thinking, 'Where are the radical who look similar me?'

"In my [secondary] schoolhouse determination were six oregon 7 achromatic kids retired of 1,200 kids and 3 of america were enactment extracurricular the headmaster's bureau each the time. The headmaster conscionable had it retired for america - and peculiarly me.

"I truly felt the strategy was up against maine and I was swimming against the tide. There were a batch of things I suppressed.

"I didn't consciousness I could spell location and archer my parents that these kids kept calling maine [racist terms], oregon I got bullied oregon beaten up astatine schoolhouse today. I didn't privation my dada to deliberation I was not strong."

In caller years, Hamilton has embarked connected a run to summation diverseness successful motorsport.

He acceptable up a committee to survey wherefore taste minorities are under-represented successful the sport, established his Mission 44 run to look astatine ways of supporting young radical from under-served backgrounds, and is moving with Mercedes connected expanding diverseness wrong their team, and successful F1.

Hamilton embarks connected his 17th play successful F1 successful March and is entering the last twelvemonth of his latest Mercedes contract.

Team main Toto Wolff said earlier this period that helium was assured Hamilton would hold a caller declaration to proceed racing beyond the extremity of this year.

"We person a afloat twelvemonth to go," Wolff said. "We are truthful aligned - successful the past 10 years our narration has grown.

"It's conscionable a substance of him physically being backmost successful Europe, sticking our heads together, wrestling a bit, and past leaving the country with achromatic fume aft a fewer hours."

Across the BBC banner