Lewis Hamilton opens up on his purpose beyond Formula 1 career

Hamilton say his perspective on his role in the sport has changed as he has aged

Lewis Hamilton has expressed his belief that he must continue to use his “platform” to “apply pressure in an uncomfortable way” and create positive change in Formula 1.

The seven-time world champion has been spoken prominently previously on several social issues, including the need for greater diversity within F1.

Revealing that his perspective has changed as he has gotten older, Hamilton has outlined a need to continue to try and “spark change” from within the sport.

The 37-year-old now thinks that making change is more important than any world title he has won or could yet win.

Hamilton told Sky Sports: “My role here, I think, is to continue to hold those conversations, sit with Stefano [Domenicali, F1’s CEO] and say: ‘What are you doing and how can we work together?’

“It goes back to bringing people on the journey rather than calling people out and unfortunately it takes a lot of yapping, but I think people seem more keen to be on the journey together and they empathise more with it and say: ‘Yes, we can do a better job.’

“I’ve got this platform and I am able to apply pressure in an uncomfortable way sometimes, but also it is a real opportunity to spark that change and that for me is more rewarding than any championship.

“My goal is that in the next five, 10 years you’re looking back at the sport and I am watching TV, hopefully with my kids, and they see young women engineers and mechanics and they’ll know there is an opportunity.

“I think as I started getting older, I started thinking: ‘I am winning these championships but what does it really mean?’ And I realised that these championships are very rewarding personally but they’re not changing anything.

“You have another credit to your name but it doesn’t change the world, it doesn’t change the fact we still have wars, we still have racial injustice, there are still people being abused, there are all sorts of things out there. So, what are we going to use this medium for, what are we going to use this platform for?

“I guess I really discovered my purpose, it’s not just being a racing driver.”

Hamilton has previously spoken of how he feels that his pursuit of greater representation of different backgrounds within F1 helps him maintain his competitive drive on the track.

He created and funded the Mission 44 foundation, which is aimed at supporting and empowering young people from under-represented backgrounds through education and employment, and worked closely with his Mercedes team.

The German outfit launched the “Accelerate 25” project in 2020 and aims for 25 per cent of new starters in their team to come from under-represented groups until the end of 2025.