Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton has come a long way. Hamilton faced a lot of adversity growing up including bullying and racism as a child.
In a recent podcast, Hamilton discussed what it was like growing up and the hardships he faced.
“I was already being bullied at the age of six,” he said in an interview with TMZ. “I think at the time of that particular school, I was probably one of three kids of color and just bigger and stronger bullying kids were throwing me around a lot of the time.”
“I was always the last picked, you know, when you’re standing at the playground, and you’re in the line of when they’re picking teams for football, I was always the last one chosen, or not even chosen, even if I was better than somebody else.
The 7-time champion also said that how was treated as a child shaped him as an adult. Because of his mixed heritage, he didn’t know where he fit in the world.
“People calling you half cast and, you know, just really not knowing where you fit in,” he added.
“That, for me, was difficult. When you then go into like history class and everything you learn in history, there are no pictures of people of color in the history that they were teaching us.
Hamilton frequently advocates against racism and says racing was the thing that save him.”It wasn’t really ’til I started racing that I was able to channel this emotion that I had into my driving,” he says.
Now, not only is he a racing champion but is also has a part minority ownership of the Denver Broncos as well.
[TMZ]
About Stacey Mickles
Stacey is a 1995 graduate of the University of Alabama who has previously worked for other publications such as Sportskeeda and Saturday Down South.