Special to the NNPA from the
Afro-American Newspaper
British Formula One racing driver Lewis Carl Hamilton is easily considered the most accomplished Black race car driver in the history of motor sports. Now 28 years old, he became the first Black driver to ever win the British Formula One championship at age 22, and is also the first Black driver to win a major race at the Indianapolis Motors Speedway in any discipline.
Unfortunately for Hamilton, this season has been a far cry from that early success, as he currently trails points leader and three-time defending Formula One champion Sebastian Vettel by 60 points after placing fifth in the German Grand Prix race on July 7.
Hamilton has yet to win a race this year; his last win came during the 2012 United States Formula One Grand Prix. He blames his struggles on his car after switching from McLaren to Mercedes at the start of the year.
“The car is a disaster on heavy fuel loads,” he said to the media following the German GP. “It’s always a shock when a race goes bad. You never expect it to go as bad as it does. You find you are digging yourself out of a hole right towards the end of a race when all of a sudden the car [stops] working. It’s very frustrating.”
Hamilton told reporters he still wants to win the 2013 Formula One championship, but it seems unrealistic given Vettel’s lead.
“I’m not really thinking about the championship now. There’s really no point—especially as he is nearly 60 points ahead,” he said. “We are going to need a little bit of elbow grease and we might be able to do it.”
Despite his struggles, Hamilton remains in a relaxed state of mind. According to The Daily Mail, he spent July 13 doing doughnuts for display at the Goodwin Festival of Speed as a crowd of thousands of race fans cheered him on. He then linked up with friends Jay-Z, Nas and Justin Timberlake as they performed at the Wireless Festival in London the following day.
He even posted a picture on Twitter on July 19 from his personal recording studio.
“My hideaway—pouring my heart into this track!!” Hamilton tweeted, while also sharing a message about love for his fans, hinting that he misses his ex-girlfriend, Nicole Scherzinger, the former Pussycat Dolls lead singer, whom he recently broke up with.
“If you’ve found that special someone, don’t EVER let them go no matter what,” Hamilton tweeted. “Nothing in this world is more important!!”
