Lewis Hamilton with his parents, Anthony Hamilton and Carmen Larbalestier.Photo:Jon Furniss/WireImage; Andrew Matthews - WPA Pool/Getty
Jon Furniss/WireImage; Andrew Matthews - WPA Pool/Getty
Lewis Hamilton kept his move from Formula 1’s Mercedes team to Ferrari heavily under wraps, even keeping the move from his parents.
“I didn’t speak to anybody. I didn’t tell my parents till the day of it being announced. So, no one knew,” Hamilton told the BBC podcastBack at Baseon Feb. 21, per theAssociated Press. “I really wanted to do it for myself. Ultimately, I had to find out what would be the best for me.”
The decorated F1 driver, 39, made the surprise announcement that he would beswitching to Ferrariat the end of the 2024 racing season earlier this month, releasing an statement alongside Mercedes.
Hamilton toldBack at Basethat he relied on his “gut and [his] heart” to help him make the decision to switch teams.
“I mean, the opportunity just popped up and I was like, ‘OK, I’ve got to think for a second,’” Hamilton said. “I didn’t have a lot of time to think and I had to just go with my gut feeling and I decided to take the opportunity.”
Hamilton’s fellow Mercedes team members didn’t have much warning of his departure, either. OnBack at Base, he revealed that he told racerToto Wolffthat he would be leaving the team just a day before the announcement.
“It happened very fast and basically, I have known Fred [ Vasseur, the Ferrari team principal] for a long time,” he said, perSports Illustrated. “And for me, I was excited for a new year, but not really knowing what the future would hold and not really knowing how long I was going to race for, but knowing that I felt super driven and excited to continue to race.”
The F1 record-holder’s parents,Anthony Hamilton and Carmen Larbalestier, have been supportive of his racing career and helped foster his skills from an early age. Anthony took Hamilton on his first go-kart ride when he was 3 years old. By age 10, Hamilton had won his first British karting title.
Lewis Hamilton with his parents, Anthony Hamilton and Carmen Larbalestier.Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty ; Jon Furniss/WireImage
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty ; Jon Furniss/WireImage
Hamilton has been candid about how his family struggled to support him in racing — Anthony worked multiple jobs to support him financially, and his family traveled from his hometown in Stevenage, England across the U.K. for races every weekend.
When writing about his family’s decision to help him make his entrance into the racing world in his 2007 autobiographyLewis Hamilton: My Story, Hamilton wrote, “I honestly do not think I would be where I am today if my parents and step-parents had not worked hard together.”Hamilton is set to begin his last season with Mercedes on Saturday at theBahrain Grand Prix.
source: people.com
