© LAT Images for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd
Lewis Hamilton says “fighting for something that is far greater than me and us” helped propel him to a level he ‘didn’t know whether he’d get to’.
In his record-breaking 2020 season Lewis Hamilton spent a lot of time fighting to equality and championing social justice, something that he says made his seventh championship win “most impactful”.
“I think this last one probably feels the most impactful because those previous years have been self-driven, family driven, our journey driven, our struggle driven, and then this year has been a struggle for others,” the Briton told ESPN.
“That’s really helped propel me to a level I really wasn’t … I didn’t know whether I’d get to. But that new source of power, fighting for something that is far greater than me and us, has really given this year a meaning that I couldn’t ever have imagined.
“So even right now, I still try to grasp it all because it’s really huge for me personally.
“And the reception I received this year was just really, really overwhelming. When I speak about overwhelming experiences, this has been the most overwhelming year in so many ways.”
The seven-time champion says it is his mission now to utilize the Formula 1 platform to have an even bigger impact on the issues that he finds important.
“I want to learn more, and I try to educate myself more and try to understand this platform that I now have. I really want to be efficient with it, I really want to be as impactful as I can with it.
If you like SilverArrows.Net, consider supporting us by buying us a coffee!
“I look at a lot of stars, people who have had major success and then kind of fall off, become a bit irrelevant compared to where they were in their major stage — maybe they look back now maybe they think ‘I wish I did more with that moment’.
“So I am trying… hindsight is always a great thing, and of course we always look back and say we should do more, but I can’t change the past. What I can do is try to prepare for the future the best way I can.
“So yes, part of the drive I think is going to continue to be more and more understanding the impact I can have.
“But what’s next? I think the great thing that Formula One has given me and this platform has given me, is that I can pretty much do anything I want moving forwards.
“But what’s shown this year and what you see is I do really care about pushing for change for people. If I can really utilize my voice and my time here to have a really positive impact.
“How big or small that positive impact is depends how much I work and how hard I go at it,” concluded Hamilton.
