Lewis Hamilton on that tweet to Fernando Alonso | 30.10.22

“Well I have you it. It was my thumbs up *giggles* I don’t have a lot to say about it. It does make me giggle. I have tried to be really respectful over the years. For example, when ever you asked me about who’s been the better driver for me I always try to give praise. But, it’s definitely interesting to see the comments that are made. It doesn’t really matter so that’s why I just put the thumbs up (👍🏽).”

Lewis Hamilton got asked if the prompt response from the FIA/F1 is some kind of progress | 29.06.22

“It’s now a knee jerk reaction really, from companies all around the world when something like this happens.”

“They probably already have, I’m not saying that we do, but I’m just saying, you have got to imagine that everyone’s PR agency or PR people have already a script ready for something like that crisis management. It’s not enough. Now it’s about actual real action. We’ve got to actually start acting and as I said, it just comes back down to you know, up to F1, to the media, we should not be giving these people a platform.”

“These old voices are you know, whether they’re subconscious or consciously, do not agree that people like me, for example, should be in a sport like this, do not agree women should be here, discrimination is not something we should be projecting and promoting and giving a platform to create and divide people.”

“We need more than ever, we’re living in such a difficult time in the world. We need people to be bringing people together. You know, we’re all the same, and it is not helpful. The comments that we’re seeing from these people.

“ I don’t think the last couple of weeks, I don’t think a day has gone by where there’s not been someone from some of the older…that have not really been in our sport or relevant in our sport for decades, trying to say negative things and trying to bring me down, but I’m still here. I’m still standing strong”

“I’m focused on my work and really trying to push for diversity and inclusion within our organization. We really need F1 and al the teams that have committed to signing this F1-charter that I’ve done that work with the Hamilton-commission to work. (…) It’s not good enough just saying: ‘We are also focused on it and just lip service.’ We really need to push for action and that’s why I’m proud of the first step we’ve done with Ignite and that’s not the end of it. That’s just the beginning. I’ve got Mission 44 up and running. I’ve got a whole team of people there to early focus on it. I’ve got my own money in there and I’m out trying to raise money also to try and really push this… I got partnerships with Sky… You know there’s a lot of great work that’s happening.”

“But I can’t do it alone.”

QUESTION | Lewis, Toto was asked yesterday, whether you'd be able to get to 400 races. And he said there was a discussion a few weeks ago where there was an agreement that you could do five, ten years. Obviously, you seem to be quite a happy place. Do you envisage being in here for longer than, say, this current contract?

LH: That's a lot of races! I firstly just want to be grateful to get to this point. But I still feel fresh and still feel like I've got plenty of fuel left in the tank. So, I'm enjoying what I'm doing. I'm enjoying… really, really proud and enjoying arriving every day and working with this incredible group of people. I’m also enjoying working with the sport more than ever. We've got some great people leading the sport and having great conversations about the direction we're going as a sport, so I'm enjoying it more than ever. I would say in that space, of course, I want to get back to winning ways and that's going to take time, but I'm sure we'll sit down at some stage and talk about the future. But again, just with our team, I always want to continue to be building. It’s one thing having races, but it's also continuing the work that we do outside and doing more, which I think Mercedes and us can always do more, and we will.

Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes attends the press conference after the F1 Grand Prix of Mexico at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on October 30, 2022

Lewis Hamilton during the post race press conference | 24.07.22

Lewis Hamilton attends a press conference ahead of the Formula One Azerbaijan Grand Prix at the Baku City Circuit in Baku on June 10, 2022.

Lewis Hamilton attends a press conference ahead of the Formula One Azerbaijan Grand Prix at the Baku City Circuit in Baku on June 10, 2022

Autosport.com | 17.06.22

Lewis Hamilton during the press-conference | 30.06.22

“I’m incredibly grateful to to all those that have been supportive within the sport, particularly the drivers. It’s been two years since many of us took the knee at the first race in Austria and of course, we’re still faced with the challenges.

“I’ve been on the receiving end of of racism and criticism and that negativity and archaic narratives for a long long time, and undertones of discrimination. So there’s nothing really particularly new for me.”

“I think it’s more about the bigger picture. I mean, I don’t know why we are continuing to give these older voices a platform, because they are speaking upon our sport and we’re looking to go somewhere completely different and that’s not representative I think of who we are as a sport now and where we are planning to go. If we’re looking to grow, in the US and other countries, South Africa and grow our audience we need to look into the future and give the younger people a platform that is more representative of today’s time and who we’re trying to be, the direction that we’re going [in].”

“So it’s not just about one individual. It’s not about just that one use of that term. It is the bigger picture.”