Disguised Lewis Hamilton shocks kids and delivers inspiring message on Mercedes tour

Hamilton is working to get more children from under-represented backgrounds into the motorsport industry

Hamilton in disguise to surprise children (UBS F1)

Lewis Hamilton dressed up in disguise to surprise three schoolchildren on a tour of the Mercedes factory.

Dressed as one of the engineers, he removed a steering wheel from his Mercedes W12 as the tour guide told him not to touch it. The seven-time world champion then ditched the disguise and surprised the children.

He told the kids: “Keep believing in yourself, that is the most important thing because nobody else is going to do it for you.

“If I can do it, then you can 100 per cent do it. Anybody can do and achieve something great.”

The children selected for the surprise are passionate about engineering which follows Hamilton’s ambition to get more kids from under-represented background into motorsport.

He, alongside F1 team Mercedes, have set up a charitable fund called Mission 44 which aims to donate £20m over the next few years to help children. Hamilton has emphasised the need to encourage them to take up STEM subjects in school in order to be able to get a job in the motorsport industry when they’re older.

He added in the film, which was made with Mercedes partner UBS: “It’s difficult. If you don’t see it sometimes it’s hard to believe that it’s possible. I love that we’re working with schools now. We’re working on creating a better pipeline for youngsters getting into our industry because it isn’t diverse.

“Now is the time to act.”