“That’s been something I’m most proud of” : Lewis Hamilton opens up about conversations beyond the track during his time at Mercedes
During the later stages of his career, Lewis Hamilton has become an important figure outside the F1 world as well, as he has been doing a lot of work for the benefit of the underprivileged while also being an advocate of social and cultural aspects.
Now that the Briton is leaving Mercedes, where many of these operations first initiated with the help of Team Principal Toto Wolff, he recently revealed that he hopes and expects the Austrian to continue this work even after he is gone, for the well-fair of others.
“I think the thing that I’m most proud of when I think about what I leave behind, I hope, in a positive way, is the work we’ve done with diversity inclusion. That’s been something I’m most proud of.” Hamilton said to PlanetF1.com.
The seven-time world champion talked about how literally everyone he talked to was in favour of this great motive, and he has full faith that Wolff along with the others will continue doing this work even after he is gone to Maranello.
“From the first moment sitting down with Toto, him being open-minded, for the whole team being open-minded, all team members going through diversity inclusion training, actually creating a diversity team.
“We did Ignite, actually really putting their money where their mouth is and investing and we have a very, very diverse team now, which is something that I’m really grateful for being a part of.
“And when I sit with Toto, I’m like, ‘Look, when I leave, there’s going to be no one in the room that’s going to have these difficult conversations with you, but I hope that you continue that’, and obviously he will.” Hamilton states his belief over the Mercedes CEO.
Lewis Hamilton talks about his final years in Mercedes
The Briton and Mercedes together have had over the top success together in the last decade, as they dominated everyone else in both singles and constructor’s world championships. The name Lewis Hamilton became a life of its own, winning six more world championships and matching the record of the great Michael Schumacher, while also completely sweeping the constructor’s championships from 2014-21.
Obviously, his last few years with the Silver Arrows was not anything ground breaking, but the Briton believes that the fact that they are still showing up from time to time says it all.
“And then on the track, I think naturally it’s our show of resilience over the years and the continued pursuit of perfection,” Hamilton continued. “I loved that journey.
“These last few years have not been obviously spectacular in terms of performances, but there’s a lot of great things we’ve done away from the track, particularly. And again, I think this has been a real test of time to show how resilient we are. We’re still here. We’re still showing up. We’re still giving it our all. And that’s something to be proud of.” the 39-year-old explained.
Lewis Hamilton will be leaving with a lifetime worth of memories with the Brackley-based team, as his new chapter at 40 years old with his favourite childhood team is about to start.
