The greatest sports stars ultimately end up transcending their sport. The likes of Muhammad Ali, Serena Williams, Ayrton Senna and Michael Jordan are, of course, associated with their sports, but they are cultural icons in their own right. They are of their sports and simultaneously separate from them.
Lewis Hamilton, who is seemingly breaking records every week, might see himself in that category of working beyond his sport, or, at least, on the path to it.
Sure, more records will topple. He is the odds-on 2/5 favourite with 888 motorsports betting to win in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, and that will put him on 12 for the season. As such, he will have a chance to equal Schumacher’s record of 13 Grand Prix wins in a season. But at this point, it seems fairly meaningless beyond giving statisticians something for the record books. We say that with the utmost respect; what Hamilton has done – is doing – is phenomenal. But the man himself is looking beyond his sport.
Hamilton has spoken out on racial equality
Just listen to some of the quotes coming from Hamilton after being crowned world champion for the seventh time: “I promise you, I am not going to stop fighting for change.”; “We realise we’ve got to face and not ignore the human rights issues in the countries that we go to”; “Watching George for that eight minutes and 30 seconds, as for so many people, brought up so much emotion that I didn’t even realise that I had clogged up and suppressed over that time.”; and “Competing and winning championships is great, but what does it really mean?”.
First, let’s address the elephant in the room, namely the criticism that is levelled at Hamilton for viewing himself as someone that can implement change. Hamilton is far from having the kind of Michael Jacksonesque messiah complex that can come when you have a talent in one area, and then suddenly think that equates to ‘healing the world’. He is grounded and realistic. And, yes, he is well aware that it can sound hypocritical to preach about poverty and human rights when you are paid millions of dollars to drive in countries like Bahrain.
Hamilton named at the top of Powerlist
As Motorsport Week reported, Hamilton has topped the Powerlist of most influential black people in the UK. To hear him speak, you witness a man who realises that such an accolade is not a trinket to be tucked away like winning GQ’s Man of the Year. It is something he intends to use, not to his advantage, but to at least start the ball rolling for racial equality in motorsports.
And, that’s why we made the (perhaps sacrilegious in some eyes) comparison with the like of Ali and Williams in the opening paragraph. Both conquered their sports, but Ali left a legacy of protest of racial and religious injustice; Williams, meanwhile, pushed for gender equality. We will remember them as great champions – the best of all time – but their legacies outside of the ring and off the court could be greater. We aren’t saying that Hamilton will – or is able to – have such influence in F1, but if he attempts it – it’s a worthy goal.
