(Video) Lewis Hamilton recalls being ‘beat up’ as a six-year-old in boxing ring
Lewis Hamilton recalled a boxing incident from his younger days and how a lesson from his father has stuck with him since.
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Lewis Hamilton, image via IMAGO and screenshot via X/sim3744
Lewis Hamilton is arguably the greatest driver to have ever graced F1. However, his journey into the sport was not easy as he had to go through racial discrimination owing to his background. Subsequently, Hamilton recalled an incident when he was six years old in a boxing ring and getting beaten up by a kid, and explained how his father, Anthony Hamilton, played a vital role in his F1 success.
Hamilton had been a professional RC car racer in his junior days and envisioned a bright future ahead. He switched over to karting at the age of six and never looked back. The Brit won the prestigious GP2 title in his pursuit of the top step of the ladder and is now a seven-time champion and the star of Mercedes.
Despite achieving massive success, Lewis Hamilton‘s never-give-up attitude has remained constant, which originated from a boxing incident in his childhood days.
My dad put me in the ring (boxing) I think I was seven or eight (years old) and this kid beat the life out of… he beat me up in the first time we were in the boxing ring together and my nose is bleeding when I came out I was like ‘dad I dont wanna go back in’ and he told me to ‘never give up’. And I went back in and I beat the kid in the next round and that stuck with me forever.
Lewis Hamilton said
Hamilton explained that when he stepped into the boxing ring for the first time, he was crushed by his rival. This made him tell his dad, Anthony Hamilton, that he did not want to do participate in boxing anymore. However, the 68-year-old imbibed in him the life lesson of never giving up.
Mercedes admit messing up on Lewis Hamilton’s end of the garage in Singapore
While Lewis Hamilton pushes forward in his career in F1, his results lately have been mediocre. He had a terrible race in Singapore owing to his soft tire stint in the initial phase of the Grand Prix and finished P6 due to the strategic blunder.
Mercedes Engineering Director Andrew Shovlin admitted the mistake made by the team played a great role in the 39-year-old’s subpar result in Marina Bay.
Having qualified within a couple of tenths of Norris and Verstappen, we anticipated being able to race for the podium. That shaped our decision to start on the soft compound with Lewis as we looked to make up ground on the opening lap. Unfortunately, with our lack of pace and struggles to control the rear tyre temperatures, that proved the incorrect decision and left him in for a tough race.
Andrew Shovlin said in a post-race interview
The 50-year-old claimed that the team gambled on an alternate strategy that did not pay off. On the contrary, Hamilton had to battle through traction problems and overheating issues throughout the race, which resulted in the Brit finishing outside the top five.
After finishing the race, the seven-time champion and his teammate George Russell reportedly suffered from borderline heatstroke. Hamilton later stated that the race in the humid climate made him feel like the worst that he has ever felt after the race. Subsequently, this sparked a debate regarding driver well-being at certain races, but the FIA has yet to respond on the issue.
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Geetansh Pasricha
(772 Articles Published)