When Lewis Hamilton was knighted at Windsor Castle in late 2021, adding the honorary title ‘sir’ to his already mind-boggling list of achievements, there is one very specific image that he has carried with him ever since.

It isn’t shaking hands with Prince Charles, nor the pomp and grandeur of a royal residence. Instead, it’s the look of pride he received from his mother, Carmen Lockhart, who accompanied him to the ceremony.

“We walked in, and she’s on my arm, and we had to separate, and I had to do the kneeling thing, with the sword over my shoulder,” he told an audience at Mercedes-Benz Ladies Day at the Formula 1® Australian Grand Prix.

“I looked to my right, and she’s standing there with the biggest smile I’ve ever seen. That was, for me, one of the most special moments I’ve ever experienced.”

Family values

The seven-time F1 champion is unequivocal about the role family has played in his success, both on the racetrack and in his work championing greater diversity in motorsport.

Lewis credited his “two mums”, mother Carmen and stepmother Linda Hamilton, as “incredibly independent, powerful women” who both devoted themselves to supporting his dreams from a young age.

“That supportive structure that both my mums have given me has really enabled me to excel,” he said.

The report made 10 recommendations to address the underrepresentation of black people within UK motorsport, as well as in STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths – industries more broadly. These included scholarship programmes for students of colour to study university degrees in STEM, broadening recruitment practices in motorsport and asking F1 teams to implement a diversity and inclusion charter.

Lewis said he was driven to establish the commission after years of being “the only person of colour in the room”, whether it was on a photoshoot or in team meetings with engineers and mechanics.

“You notice it when you walk in and you wonder, ‘where is everyone?’,” he said. “When I would ask questions of our leaders, they would never have an answer.”

Closing the gender gap

Though the Hamilton Commission focuses on improving racial diversity in motorsport, these questions, Lewis said, need to be asked about the gender gap in what remains an overwhelmingly male-dominated industry.

“We are working as a team to make sure that we’re pushing for diversity. There are so many opportunities … and there are a lot of these amazing women coming through,” he said, pointing to Spaniard Cristina Gutiérrez, who drives for his X44 team in the all-electric Extreme E series. “She’s an incredible champion rally driver.”

Lewis said he’s also been inspired by British former racing driver and Formula E’s Venturi Racing team principal Susie Wolff (née Stoddart), who he describes as “a real boss” and Rwandan-Belgian W Series driver and Sky Sports presenter Naomi Schiff.
 

He wants to see more female drivers rising through the ranks of motorsport, as well as more women working behind the scenes, such as Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS trackside fluid engineer Stephanie Travers, who in 2020, became the first black woman on the F1 podium.
 

“There's research now that shows that a diverse workforce is much, much better for an organisation, but it seems that there's still conscious bias in hiring,” he said.
 

“I think for us men, we need to be championing women more. It's about encouraging women to want to get involved and creating an environment where they feel comfortable, included and treated equally.”

Follow Lewis Hamilton and the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team throughout the season here.
 

By Jo Davy