Lewis Hamilton has advice to racers of color for making it to F1, with a gentle nudge towards 2021 Abu Dhabi

Lewis Hamilton recently met a few upcoming drivers at a meet-up organized by the BBC in which he shared his words of advice with the racers.

Being the first black Formula 1 driver, Lewis Hamilton broke barriers that were present within the sport earlier. Not only that, the success he's achieved as he's become the most successful driver in the history of the sport has served as an inspiration for so many upcoming drivers of color.

In the BBC segment, Hamilton talked about the sport and how color proved to be one of the limiting factors even as he was making his way through the ranks. Not only that, the Mercedes driver talked about how while the sport was expensive, there were still companies and organizations that wanted more diverse participation.

In all of this, Lewis Hamilton also mentioned how it was very important to focus on the off-track stuff as well, such as how one conducts himself after losing. In a gentle nudge towards what happened at the 2021 F1 Abu Dhabi GP, Hamilton stressed how important it is to have proper conduct. He told the budding upcomers that:

"The biggest difficulty was the difference in race. Obviously being the only person of colour on the track apart from my dad. There's a lack of diversity through the top of big, big organizations, companies all the way down and there's very very little black leadership."

"The problem with our sport is that it is very expensive. But there are a lot of people out there, companies that are looking for improving diversity and inclusion."

He added:

"So it's not just what you do on track, but it's also how you present yourself as a family, how you handle yourself when you lose. Your parents are going to be the one true people that are going to be there for the right reasons, like the purest reasons from the get go. But I really just want to encourage you guys, there's nothing you cannot do."

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I appreciate every achievement even more now: Lewis Hamilton

In a recent interview, Lewis Hamilton touched on how the progress through the 2022 F1 season was an interesting experience for him. It was this experience that made him cherish his past results even more where wins were not this hard to come by.

Lewis Hamilton said:

"We fought for fifth place and everyone was excited. Then it was a matter of fourth place and everyone was absolutely thrilled. It was a nice experience to be so happy with a fourth or fifth place. Also feeling the feeling of fighting your way forward, of having first, third or second place: We're almost there. This is something we all needed."

"I appreciate achievements even more now. After the race in Brazil, when George Russell won and I finished second, I was incredibly happy about this team effort."

Lewis Hamilton's contract will expire at the end of the 2023 F1 season and his new contract is expected to be in the works.