Hamilton wants to fight against the dropout of young drivers
The now five-time Formula 1 world champion wishes to get involved through his foundation to prevent young drivers from leaving school too early to focus solely on their careers.
Lewis Hamilton has expressed the desire to help aspiring drivers, who compete in the lower categories, in case they fail to become professional drivers. Indeed, many of these young drivers leave school very early to devote themselves entirely to their careers. But very few ultimately manage to achieve their dream. It is precisely these young individuals that the Briton wishes to help.
Its objective would also be to discourage young drivers from leaving school too early. Concern about dropping out reflects the comments made by the famous engineer Adrian Newey, particularly regarding his son Harrison. The Red Bull technical director expressed during a 2014 interview the wish for efforts to be made in this area.
Hamilton would also like to meet with the FIA director Jean Todt to see what can be done: « I want to continue racing but also encourage the young people. I hope to be able to meet Jean (Todt) at some point, because I think we can have a positive impact on young people who are in school. »
The five-time world champion then discusses the difficult situation that can result from failing to become a professional driver: « Many kids who race are not in school or do not receive an education. Parents take their child out of school to focus on their ultimate goal, and when it doesn’t happen, they fall hard. »
The Englishman wishes to rely on professional racing teams, which could offer the opportunity for these young people to become engineers through training: « Obviously, winning championships is a good thing, but I hope to be able to work on this with Jean (Todt), so that these kids, even if they don’t make it to Formula 1, or don’t become drivers, can become engineers, for example. There are thousands of people within these teams, there are so many opportunities within all these structures, so it’s something I want to get involved in. »
Lewis Hamilton appreciates the luck he had in fulfilling his dream and desires to have an impact on the future: « This great sport and the great opportunity I’ve had have allowed me to create an excellent foundation and a chance for me to do other things. I’ve always been the kind of person who wants to have a positive impact; I don’t want to just accumulate, accumulate, accumulate. I want to do positive things for the future. »
The former McLaren driver believes it is his duty to do something with his notoriety: « So, if I want to be remembered, it’s by building a school, promoting education, helping people going through difficult times. It’s complicated to articulate, but I don’t want my time on Earth to mean nothing. »
