Hamilton: “I grew up loving Brazil because I saw people like me” – GQ

Seven-time world champion in Formula 1 Lewis Hamilton In Brazil this week, for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, which takes place next Sunday (14), at the Interlagos Autodrome. When he comes to the country, Hamilton rekindles a specific old relationship dating back to his teens.

“I grew up in love with Brazil even before I saw it in person,” the pilot recalls, in an exclusive interview with him GQ Brazil. “The only Brazilian I knew, of course, was Ayrton (Senna); but even though I was in the UK, I always supported Brazil,” he said.

Fighting racism on and off the track, Hamilton remembers what it felt like to watch Brazil matches when he was young. “Actually, I was seeing people who looked like me, and they looked like me. When I first arrived in Brazil, I was very touched, because I was, basically, at home,” he comments.

The driver says the start in setting up the Hamilton Commission, an entity for black representation and inclusion in motorsports, occurred in 2019, when he saw pictures of Formula 1 teams and questioned the lack of diversity, even then. Long after he arrived as the first black in this category.

“It all started with George Floyd, and then Black Lives Matter happened and it was a really powerful moment for a lot of people, especially for me – to learn, to realize how to use my voice and how I wanted to fight,” he says.

Read the full story at GQ Brazil October magazine, on newsstands, on Globo+ and beyond Our virtual store (for residents of greater Sao Paulo).

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