‘It was very difficult’: Lewis Hamilton opens up about racist harassment he suffered at school

“They started bullying me when I was six years old. I was one of three colored kids in my school, and the bigger, stronger guys bullied me all the time. Seven-time F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton has revealed that he suffered racist abuse and bullying at school as a child, making it the “most traumatic” time of his life.

In the On Purpose podcast posted online on Monday, the 38-year-old mestizo champion, who grew up in a small town near London, said: “For me, school has been the most traumatic and difficult part of my life.” “Constant beatings, things thrown at me like bananas, and people using N-word (black person) in peace, people who called me a half-breed, and not knowing what my place is: for me it was very hard. »

But Hamilton continues, “I did not want to come home and tell my parents that these children called me a black man or that they mocked me or beat me at school. I didn’t want my father to think I was weak. »

Only active black driver F1

Considered one of the greatest drivers of all time, Hamilton remains the only active black Formula One driver to this day (Willie T. Ribbs was the first black in the 80s). He created the Mission 44 Foundation and the Ignite organization, whose goal is to help young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, and the other is to promote drivers among these young people in partnership with Mercedes.