F1

LEWIS HAMILTON has been making the most of his fortnight off ahead of the Mexico Grand Prix.The seven-time world champion, 36, lost out to Max Verstappen in an epic battle at the US Grand Prix in Austin, Texas.
Lewis Hamilton shielded his eyes from bugs as he enjoyed a sunset drive in a JeepCredit: Instagram / @lewishamilton
Lewis Hamilton enjoyed a spot of surfing as he made the most of his time offCredit: Instagram / @lewishamilton
Hamilton also posed in New York as he prepares for his next race in MexicoCredit: Instagram / @lewishamilton
And with two weeks off to recalibrate ahead of the Mexico GP, Hamilton has enjoyed some action-packed downtime.
Hamilton went for a sunset drive in a 4×4, enjoyed some surfing, threw on some prosthetics to go undercover at his engineering school and partied hard in New York.
The Brit ace shared the updates to his Instagram.
In one, Hamilton can be seen driving an open-top 4×4 while shielding his eyes from bugs.
Referencing Will Ferrell film Talladega Nights, Hamilton caption the video: “You don’t drive with your eyes, you drive with your heart…
“Bugs out here have me feeling like Ricky Bobby with a blindfold on.”

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The F1 superstar later showed off his impressive watersports skills, revealing: “Surfing with @monsterenergy this week…
“I felt like a kid that didn’t want to get out the bath – asking for 10 more minutes over and over and over.
“Too much fun.”
Hamilton also posed for a snap under the bright lights of New York, captioned: “If you can make it here.”
GOING UNDERCOVER
It’s just the latest in a long line of activities Hamilton has enjoyed during his fortnight break.
Earlier this week, the British star went undercover at Mercedes HQ as he played a prank on a group of astonished school children.
Hamilton was hidden by a rubber mask, beard and glasses in the stunt as one kid revealed they ‘wanted to cry’ after he ditched the disguise.
The British superstar also opened up to WSJ Magazine about the pain he felt after being racially abused during the 2008 Spanish GP.
Early in his career, a group of fans showed up to the Barcelona race in blackface while wearing shirts that read ‘Hamilton’s Family.’
Hamilton recalled: “I remember the pain that I felt that day, but I didn’t say anything about it; I didn’t have anyone.
“No one said anything. “I saw people continuing in my industry and staying quiet.”
Earlier in the week, Hamilton went undercover at Mercedes HQ to surprise a group of school kids
Hamilton later ditched his undercover persona to reveal his true identity More

LEWIS HAMILTON got nervous about angering Formula One bosses with his anti-racism messaging.The British legend is a leading voice in the fight against racism in sport and society but said it was not always easy and he feared kick-back.
Lewis Hamilton is a vocal advocate of several equality and anti-racism campaigns
And Hamilton was a strong campaigner to get justice for Breonna Taylor
Hamilton is a passionate supporter of many equality and anti-racism campaigns.
He has backed the Black Lives Matter movement.
And recently supported the justice for Breonna Taylor campaign after the 26-year-old black woman was shot and killed by white officers in her home in Kentucky, USA in March 2020.
The shooting led to mass global protests and Hamilton wore a supportive t-shirt at the 2020 Tuscan GP.
It read: “Arrest the cops who killed Breonna Taylor.”
And Hamilton admitted to the Wall Street Journal such moves made him nervous.

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The 36-year-old said: “I can’t be second. I’m wearing that shirt – I’ve got to get to first to bring light to her name.
“I get these nerves like, ‘Shoot, I’m about to break the rules and people aren’t going to be happy with it’.
“They’ve changed a lot of rules after a lot of things that I’ve done.”
Hamilton has been on the end of racism himself and a particularly harrowing incident at the 2008 Spanish GP left its mark.
A group of fans in the Barcelona crowd had ‘blacked up’ and donned shirts that read: “Hamilton’s family.”
And revealing details of how he felt, Hamilton said: “I remember the pain that I felt that day, but I didn’t say anything about it.
“I didn’t have anyone. No one said anything. I saw people continuing in my industry and staying quiet.”
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The lack of diversity in F1 is an issue Hamilton feels passionately about.
So much so he has sought to find answers as to why there’s a lack of black people taking part in the sport.
Hamilton set up and funded his own investigation after looking at the end-of-season F1 team photos, where he says he was reminded about the lack of diversity.
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LEWIS HAMILTON has opened up on the pain he felt being racially abused by Formula One fans who turned up in blackface at a race in Spain. The fans showed up to the 2008 Grand Prix in blackface while wearing shirts that read ‘Hamilton’s Family.’
Hamilton opened up on racism he faced in Spain to the WSJCredit: WSJ
The seven-time F1 champ feels passionately about the lack of diversity in the sportCredit: WSJ
Hamilton wants to see more people of colour in the sport, taking up roles as drivers, mechanics and engineersCredit: WSJ
The now seven-time F1 champ looks back on that day with great sadness.
And Hamilton says he didn’t do or say anything about it as he “didn’t have anyone”.
In an interview with the WSJ Magazine, Hamilton recalled: “I remember the pain that I felt that day, but I didn’t say anything about it; I didn’t have anyone.
“No one said anything.
“I saw people continuing in my industry and staying quiet.”
The lack of diversity in F1 is an issue Hamilton feels passionately about.

So much so he has sought to find answers as to why there’s a lack of black people taking part in the sport.
Hamilton set up and funded his own investigation after looking at the end-of-season F1 team photos, where he says he was reminded about the lack of diversity.
He said: “Most people know my journey into F1 and my experience being the first Formula One driver of colour.
“Being in motorsport, I often looked around me and wondered why I was one of the very few people of colour, and it is not just about drivers but job opportunities for mechanics, engineers, marketing and accounting.
“As I grew more successful, I thought that me being at the front would open more doors to black talent, but at the end of 2019, I was in Abu Dhabi and I was looking at team photos and it was a stark reminder as I zoomed in on those pictures at how little progress had been made in the sport into being more inclusive.
“That’s when I knew that I needed to do more and where the idea for the Hamilton Commission came from, however, with the extensive research from the team, we realised it is not just the motorsport industry that needs to change.
I remember the pain that I felt that day [Spain 2008], but I didn’t say anything about it; I didn’t have anyone.Lewis Hamilton
“We found there are still systemic issues facing young black people at all levels of the education system that need to be addressed.
“So we have developed 10 final recommendations to address the issue of diversity in UK motorsport.
“From this report, I hope we can make long-lasting meaningful progress. We have to ensure that these findings do not go ignored.”
Lewis Hamilton stuns group of kids by ditching disguise and giving inspirational speech More

HERE is Lewis Hamilton as you’ve never seen before – as he played a prank on a group of school children visiting his Mercedes team’s HQ.Hamilton, 36, was disguised in a rubber mask with a beard and wore glasses in the stunt.
Hamilton wore a hat with a bearded maskCredit: TWITTER: UBSF1
The seven-time F1 champ revealed his true identity to the children after touching his cars steering wheel, something he warned them not to doCredit: TWITTER: UBSF1
The children were in disbelief with one saying they wanted to ‘shake his hand’Credit: TWITTER: UBSF1

The seven-time world champion spoke to the children as they took part in a factory tour before he revealed his real identity.
The kids, who had all expressed an interest in working in engineering and automotive industries, were left stunned after meeting their hero.
One of the boys said: “I met Lewis Hamilton!”
Another kid said: “I’m dreaming. I wanna cry. I wanna shake his hand.”
The stunt was run in conjunction with sponsors UBS and a subject close to Hamilton, who launched his own commission to identify why there were so few black engineers working in F1.
As a result of his study, earlier this month the star launched a scheme to recruit black teachers in STEM subjects.

He said: “Education I know is key for every child and we’re in a time more than ever before where we need to make sure we’re providing opportunities and also enabling the younger generation to understand what they are.
“There are a lot of youngsters who don’t realise that being an engineer, for example, is an avenue that they can go down.
“We’re really trying to have a positive impact on the people that we meet, in particular the youth, and I’m proud of the things we are doing together.”
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