Lewis Hamilton.Photo: Cass Bird for WSJ. Magazine
Lewis Hamilton is reflecting on the risks he’s taken to speak out about issues that matter to him as he’s namedWSJ. Magazine’s first-ever sports innovator for theupcoming Innovator Awards.
The 36-year-old says that he knew that in order for his shirt to really make an impact, he needed to take first: “I can’t be second. I’m wearing that shirt; I’ve got to get to first to bring light to her name.”
Luckily, Hamilton won — and then the fears kicked in. “I get these nerves like, ‘Shoot, I’m about to break the rules and people aren’t going to be happy with it,’ " he recounts of his feelings before stepping onto the podium.
Formula 1 subsequently changed the rulesabout what drivers can wear on the podium after races. Hamilton takes the fairly obvious reaction to his statement in stride: “Well, they’vechanged a lot of rules after a lot of things that I’ve done.”
Lewis Hamilton.Cass Bird for WSJ. Magazine
Hamilton also talks toWSJ. Magazineabout being the lone Black driver to reach the top of Formula 1, and the other sports icons that he’s looked to on his journey.
“My dad and I would watch people like Tiger [Woods] who kind of broke the mold, and we watched in admiration. The Williams sisters also did the same,” he says. “We’re like, ‘Oh, if we could do something like that, that’s going to help change the industry moving forward.’ "
He previously spoke to PEOPLE last year about the challenges of being Black and growing up on the racing circuit, and how he moved through. He said at the time, “We had things thrown at us, particularly a lot of words, but my dad said, ‘Do your talking on the track,’ because I’m a fighter. I got bullied at school, so I always wanted to be able to defend myself, or fight back, but my dad’s like, ‘Do your talking on the track.’ "
Hamilton is one of eight cultural trailblazers being honored atWSJ. Magazine’s Innovator Awards next week.
Fans can register towatch the ceremony online here.
source: people.com
