Lewis Hamilton feels that a F1 team ‘performs better’ when there is diversity

Formula 1 driver, Lewis Hamilton has been fighting racism all his life.

Lewis Hamilton feels that a F1 team ‘performs better’ when there is diversity

Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton is one of the most talented and influential drivers on the Formula 1 grid. The Brit made its debut in the sport in the year 2007 with McLaren. He went on to win his first race in Montréal, which was just his sixth outing senses debut in the pinnacle of motorsport. It was clear that Lewis was not joking around and was ready to compete with the best of the best.

He beat his teammate Fernando Alonso in their first season, competing together as teammates at McLaren. However, this wasn’t the end for Hamilton’s achievement bar as he went on to win the Formula One world championship in 2008. Since then, the British driver has gone on to win six more drivers championships with Mercedes AMG F1 team. While he has achieved a test of success on multiple occasions, life has been hard on him solely based on his colour.

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Lewis Hamilton has had to face heaps of racism all throughout his career. Right from his karting days to Formula 1, the discrimination has always been there. Although the seven time world champion has risen through it all to become the talented driver that he is today However, he feels that the sport should be more diversified and people should not look at it as a disadvantage but rather an advantage.

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Lewis Hamilton is pushing for diversity in the sport

Lewis Hamilton, Roger Federer and George Russell F1
Lewis Hamilton, Roger Federer and George Russell

In an interview set up by the Swiss Bank UBS, here is what the 7 time world champion had to say. “I think partly it’s ingrained in who I am. I’ve never been good at adhering to kind of rules. If someone tells me that I can’t do something that I would always be about proving them wrong,” the Mercedes driver stated.

Hamilton is also aware that there aren’t many coloured people working in the sport right now. “My goal is really to change that in the future. I think a diverse team has been proven to be better for an organization. It’s better for idea creation, creativity, and it shows that there’s better performance for a team when it’s more diverse,” Hamilton concluded.

Lewis Hamilton said that Mercedes are listening to him and taking efforts to increase inclusivity amongst the team. Their diversity percentage within the team is 3% currently but they want to increase it to 25% within the next five years. The British driver has had a huge impact on the Brackley based squad and will keep doing so. Currently, his focus lies on the upcoming 2023 F1 season.

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