F1 Star Lewis Hamilton Recalls Pain of Being Called the N-Word During His Childhood: ‘Traumatizing’

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Lewis Hamilton, a seven-time champion, appeared on the latest episode of On Purpose with Jay Shetty

The Formula 1 star opened up about his childhood and his memories of being bullied as one of the few black students at school.

Hamilton, a seven-time F1 champion, told Shetty: “I think for me, school was the most traumatic and difficult part of my life. “I was bullied when I was 6 years old.”

“The constant stabbings, things thrown at you like bananas or people using the N-word are comforting,” he said. “People call you half-hearted and, you know, don’t really know where you fit in. That, for me, is difficult. When you walk into a history class and everything you learn in history, there are no images of people of the color in history that they taught us.”

Hamilton is considered one of the best (if not the best) F1 drivers of all time and is currently tied with former driver Michael Schumacher for the most F1 titles.

The British driver is the only black driver in F1 and the first in the organization’s decades-long history.

When speaking with Shetty, Hamilton said he realized early on that he was often criticized because of the color of his skin. He also revealed that he has dyslexia.

“I was thinking, wow, where do people who look like me come from?” Mercedes-Petronas driver said. “I mean, for me, in my school there were only about seven, maybe six, seven black kids out of 1,200, and the three of us were always taken out of the principal’s office.”

“I would say the principal brought it up for us and especially for me, like juggling all these different emotions that you’re feeling,” he explained. “Plus, I struggled at school. It wasn’t until I was 16 that I discovered I was dyslexic. Luckily, I came across a teacher who really cared and took me along with my child.” that path and helped me discover a little more about myself and how I can improve myself through education.”

Dyslexia is a disorder that involves difficulty reading and is caused by problems identifying speech sounds and understanding how they connect to letters and words, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Ultimately, Hamilton said, racing allowed him to “channel” the frustrations he felt in other parts of his life.

“I really felt like the system was against me and I was kind of swimming against the current,” he recalls. “But I’m so grateful for that journey, because it’s what made me who I am today.”

“I didn’t want dad to think I wasn’t strong,” Hamilton said of suppressing his emotions at the time. “And so, you know, if I had tears, I would hold them back. If I had emotions, it would be in a quiet place. And it wasn’t really until I started racing that I had can convey emotions.” this feeling I had while driving.”