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With a victory at the Turkish Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton clinched his seventh world title.
In doing so, he wrote his name alongside Michael Schumacher in the Formula 1 record book as the most successful driver of all time, but after speaking it was clear that this title meant more than that for Hamilton. .
Recognizing his position in the history of sport, Hamilton has used his platform to advocate for change in the world this year. He has made his voice heard on topics ranging from racial injustice to diversity and the environment.
After winning in Turkey, Hamilton took to social media to sum up his thoughts.
“Until today, and even after crossing the line, I have collected my thoughts on what is most important to me,” he wrote on his Instagram feed after the race.
“This year has been so unpredictable. With the pandemic and obviously the season pushed back by several months, I had the most downtime of my life. It gave me the chance to really think about my ultimate goal. Seven The world championships are the world to me, I can’t even describe how much, but there’s yet another race that we haven’t won yet.
“This year I was motivated not only by my desire to win on the track, but also by the desire to help advance our sport and our world to become more diverse and inclusive. I promise you that I’m not going to stop fighting for change, we have a long way to go, but I will continue to push for equality in our sport and in the world we live in.
“Matching Michael Schumacher’s record highlights that I know I won’t be here forever. So, while you’re here, being careful, I want to ask everyone to do their part to help create a more equal world. be more tolerant and kind to each other. Let’s make it so that the desirability does not depend on the background or the color of the skin.
“Nothing is impossible. A driving force for me this year has been to set an example for the next generation, to never give up on your dreams. Many have told me that my dream was impossible, but here I am. want to know you can do it too. Never give up, keep fighting and let’s rise to the occasion. “
Hamilton has already started backing up his words with action. Earlier this year, he set up an expert commission to help understand why black people are under-represented in British motorsport and ultimately find ways to change that fact.
Ahead of the season, he took part in peaceful protests against racial injustice in London and persuaded Mercedes to paint their cars black instead of the brand’s traditional silver.
Throughout the season he has taken a knee before every F1 race wearing a jersey saying “Black Lives Matter” or, in the case of the September Tuscan Grand Prix, a jersey saying “Stop the cops who killed Breonna Taylor ”.
And as Hamilton took his stand, the sport followed with its own statements and commitments. F1 and its Mercedes team have taken a stronger stance on improving diversity and are committed to making real change.
They may have done the same without Hamilton, but he did more than any other individual in F1 to keep the message alive. And now Hamilton is hoping that his seventh world title, which in other circumstances may have inspired only those who follow the sport, can be his own message to change people’s lives.
“It’s obviously no secret that I really played this sport on my own as the only black person here,” he said on Sunday. “It’s a really interesting point, the point is, I’m bi-racial. I’m bi-racial and I think this color isn’t. [what] people should read.
“But I think it shows with a bit of luck when I was younger, I didn’t have anyone in the sport that looked like me. So it was easy to think that it wasn’t possible to be there, because nobody of your color was there, you don’t see black people on TV in F1.
“Hope this sends a message to the kids watching, I hope they see the performance today and I hope they can see that no matter where you are from. Whatever your background, it is so important to dream big.
“If you look at places and industries and you don’t see someone of the same background or ethnicity as you or the same religion, create your own path. That’s what we did, that’s what that I was able to do and it was so hard.
“Tough doesn’t even describe how hard it was. But I hope it sends the message, it’s the most important message for kids – dream as big as you can and don’t give up.”
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