Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time Formula 1 world champion, has one of the most famous names in the world. Now, he’s set to change it.
Why? Because he wants to pay tribute to his mum, Carmen Larbalestier.
“I don’t really fully understand the whole idea that when people get married the woman loses her name and I really want my mum’s name to continue on with the Hamilton name,” he told Chris McHardy, ARN’s Head of Sport during a Q&A at Expo 2020 Dubai’s Al Wasl Plaza.
The champ was visiting the UAE ahead of the Bahrain season opener.
Hamilton has 182 podium finishes, but is not the reigning champ after a controversial ending to last season’s final race in Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island.
Watch the video here:
Esquire Middle East last caught up with the F1 champ last year. Read our last convo below.
ESQ: Hey Lewis, good to see you again. It’s been one hell of a season, huh?
LH: Yeah, it’s been one hell of a year! What a whirlwind. It’s been massively challenging in so many ways – the continuation of having to work in a bubble and the season has been a super intense one with lots of ups and downs, but it has been an exciting one.
ESQ: You’re now one of the older statesmen on track. Some of the guys you’re racing with were kids when you were winning your first championship! Is that position something you revel in?
LH: I wouldn’t say I revel in it, but I get why you’d say that. I’m the second oldest driver in F1 now, and I am someone who isn’t afraid to push back on things – like last year in Australia when COVID was breaking and there was a lack of clarity on the quarantine regulations, so I felt it my duty to speak up. I guess that leadership role is something that I have grown into unexpectedly.
“Ultimately, having all these championships doesn’t really mean anything if you don’t do anything with it. I want to be a person of action, rather than talking about it.”
ESQ: Over the years we’ve spoken many times, and over the past couple of years I feel that the Lewis that faces the media today is the real Lewis, rather than just Lewis Hamilton the F1 driver. Was that a conscious decision to simply be unapologetically yourself?
LH: I appreciate you saying that. Look, when I got to Formula One, it was an amazing experience, but I was trained to be a racing driver. I wasn’t prepared for everything else that came with it – I didn’t have a great support structure around to help me and I found it hard to be me, and I was also still discovering who I actually was as a person. Apart from being in the car and racing, I never really felt that I could be myself and it was a very restricting space. Now, however, I know who I am. This is who I am, and I’m unapologetic about it – why should I apologise for being who I am? You’re right, there has been a lot of growth over the past few years, and discovering what I’m passionate about, what I care about. I realised that I have got a huge platform, and I want to use it for good. I see so many people who have power and don’t do enough, or perhaps not enough of the right things in terms of having a positive impact on younger people, and that is something that I want to have. Ultimately, having all these championships doesn’t really mean anything if you don’t do anything with it.
ESQ: With regards to that, do you think all the victories and accolades does that offer more freedom or add more pressure?
LH: I think everyone matures at their own pace. When I was growing up, I missed a lot of that schooling and socializing with my peers because I grew up around a lot of adults so I missed a lot of that childhood stuff where you grow into the person that you are – I just think it took a lot longer for me to discover my purpose. I mean, I knew I was a good driver and I knew I could win races, but even when you have the joy of winning a championship you still have to think about what it actually means. The bigger picture was looking around and seeing that I was the only black guy in the engineering meetings. It was me and my dad were the only people of colour on the track, and I was the only black driver racing. I could never understand it, not just that I was the only one but also because I was at the front. It has been a long journey of understanding, and now I feel that I am just at the beginning of something far greater than championships and racing.
ESQ: In that aspect, how important is it now to work with brands that you’ve had long-standing relationships with like IWC Schaffhausen for example?
LH: I’ve got to a place in my life where I’m able to pick the people that I want to work with, and for me it is vital that they are both forward thinking and hold themselves accountable to things, because this is a process that we need to work through together. We can all do better. With regards to IWC, we have had great talks about inclusion and building more diverse teams, which I find very encouraging.
ESQ: This is something that you’ve also brought to the fore with Mercedes…
LH: When I was in negotiation with Mercedes we said, “Look, we can win more races but let’s also use this amazing long-term partnership to really help shift perceptions and start sparking conversations.” That’s when we started with changing the car’s livery to black [from Mercedes’ traditional silver]. We’ve started working on other projects and if that can be a spark that encourages all the other teams to want to make positive change, then that’s a good start.
ESQ: On the track, this season has been one of the most hotly contested in recent memory, and it’s all coming to a boil in the Middle East with the first-ever Saudi Grand Prix and then the finale in Abu Dhabi. What’s it like as a driver to race on a brand new track like the one in Jeddah?
LH: Racing on a new track is actually really exciting. Because our sport is so technical we usually can rely on simulators of new tracks that have been mapped out by trucks that have hundreds of cameras and sensors on, but Jeddah was a tricky one because we weren’t sure when the track would be finished. Either way, while all the technical stuff goes on alongside, as a driver you only really get to know a track when you’re on it so you need every minute you can during the practice sessions in order to get your bearings and car setup right. Generally, on a new track your best laps are usually your last laps as you are constantly learning and learning and learning.
ESQ: Well, your last lap is normally a victory lap!
LH: Ha! Not always.
ESQ: You mentioned how technical the sport is. Do you ever have to dumb down how you talk about the sport to people who are not involved?
LH: Yeah probably, but it makes me smile. I do spend a lot of time talking to engineers and people in the sport because I’m a geek and it is my job, but I am aware that not everyone is as passionate about it as I am. I often say it’s not until you come to the track and see what it’s like does it really resonate. I remember once I invited Tom Cruise to Silverstone to see the race from the garage and he was fascinated by it all. The guys talked him through the strategy and technical aspects and he was like: “you don’t get to know this by watching the TV.” I wish more people could have that experience.
ESQ: So he didn’t do his research properly in Days Of Thunder?
LH: [Laughs] That was NASCAR. I don’t think that is quite as technical as Formula One.
ESQ: You mentioned that you tend to geek out a bit when it comes to technology. Does that extend to other areas outside of racing like, say for example, watchmaking and IWC Schaffhausen?
LH: Absolutely. I’ve always been very curious to how things are built. When I was younger I would always enjoy taking things apart and putting them back together again. Throughout my career I’ve never been embarrassed to ask questions to the engineers about how things work and why, even if I sounded stupid doing so – I am just eternally curious, I suppose. I remember when I went to the IWC factory my mind was blown looking at how the watchmakers were hand-making the watches using 500 tiny components. The level of precision, innovation and technology really spoke to me, and my appreciation for what they do is so much more.
ESQ: Kind of like Tom Cruise seeing you guys work on track.
LH: Exactly! Only when you actually see the commitment to detail do you really appreciate what the achievement is, whether it’s Formula One or watchmaking.
Lewis Hamilton is an IWC Schaffhausen brand ambassador