Lewis Hamilton has often spoken of the racism he suffered during his rise in motorsport. The seven-time F1 world champion reveals he was already being bullied and attacked because of his skin color as a 6-year-old at school.
« I didn’t feel able to go home and talk to my parents. I didn’t want my dad to think I wasn’t strong » Hamilton recalled to the Jay Shetty podcast.
« I was already bullied when I was six years old. »
« I think at the time, at that school, I was probably one of three kids of color, and the bigger, stronger kids who abused me often pushed me around. »
The problem for Hamilton was the complicity of the teachers and the school principal, who often attacked students of color and in particular him, including in the face of his torturers.
« The principal was right after us, and especially me. The teachers were like, ‘you’ll never be nothing.’ I remember I was behind the shed, in tears, like, ‘I’ll never be nothing. . And to have believed it for a fraction of a second. »
« You don’t know where your place is »
He goes on to describe the attacks he suffered, and the difficulties in positioning himself: « And then the constant ranting, things being thrown at you like bananas, or people using the ‘n’ word, in such a relaxed way. People call you half-breed and you don’t really know where is your place. »
« That, for me, was tough. When you go to history class and everything you learn about history, there’s no pictures of people of color. So I was like ‘well , where are the people who look like me?’. »
« I felt like the system was really against me and I was kind of swimming against the tide. But I’m so grateful for this journey because it’s what allowed me to become the person that I am today. »
