Lewis Hamilton says societal change is his real purpose in life now rather than winning Formula 1 titles
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Updated 23/03/2022 at 10:32 GMT
Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton says he wants to watch Formula 1 after he has retired and know that his work has created an opportunity for under-represented groups to feature in the sport. Hamilton has campaigned on the Black Lives Matter movement as well as for LGBTQ+ rights as he seeks to create equality in all walks of life, and says he will continue to "yap" at F1 bosses to do more.
Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes talks with Stefano Domenicali, CEO of the Formula One Group prior to the F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain at Bahrain International Circuit on March 20, 2022 in Bahrain.
Image credit: Eurosport
Lewis Hamilton says helping to drive societal change is more important to him than just winning Formula 1 titles.
The 37-year-old holds the record for the most Formula 1 championships alongside Michael Schumacher, with seven.
But as he has got older, Hamilton has - including equal rights and inclusivity - and says his impact in those is where he finds his "real purpose".
Speaking to Rwandan motorsports star Naomi Schiff for Sky Sports about his efforts, Hamilton said: "That's my role here I think, to continue to hold those conversations, sit with [F1 boss] Stefano [Domenicali] 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, ten 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."
With a huge following on social media - Hamilton has 27.3 million followers on Instagram alone - the Brit is able to reach into a multitude of different communities with his posts.
And he is fully aware of how his profile can be used for good.
He said: "When I was younger and first getting into social media it was very much about building up your platform because obviously the more followers you have the more influence you have.
Then as I started getting older, realising that when I press this button it's coming up on other people's phones, what do I want that post to say?
"I was like I want to take a step back, I want to re-evaluate my life, to re-evaluate where I am and I came to the realisation that I'm not going to let that define my career, it's one moment but there's going to be other great moments moving forward.
"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."
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