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“Hope I Can Be Back”: Lewis Hamilton’s Brother Nicolas Makes an Emotional Confession as Ex-Teammate Revisits Memories

Published 09/30/2023, 9:15 AM EDT

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The story of Lewis Hamilton is an extraordinary one. As a 6-year-old who fell in love with motorsport, he navigated his way through the ranks to the very top. Not to mention as a person of color in a White-dominated industry. Now, as a 38-year-old, he’s the most successful driver Formula 1 has ever seen. He defied the odds and proved everyone wrong, establishing himself as a role model for generations to come. As much as young drivers look up to him, one person whom Hamilton has inspired the most is his half-brother, Nicolas. And his story is even more extraordinary.

Nicolas Hamilton, 31, was born with cerebral palsy. It’s a disorder that affects his ability to move and maintain balance. Even so, he fought for the thing that gave him purpose—motorsport—and, like his brother, proved everyone wrong. Now, he can’t wait to get back on track and continue his story.

Nicolas Hamilton is ready to defy the odds again

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Nicolas went from saying, “I didn’t think I would have the opportunity to race,” to saying, “I hope I can be back” in just a few years. In those years, he overcame what his doctors told his parents at birth, entered the motorsport industry, and worked with teams to make extensive modifications to his car. In 2020, he made history. He became the first disabled driver to score a point in the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC)! 

While he has been a full-time driver in the BTCC since 2019, he had to step down from his seat midway through the 2023 season due to financial issues. That didn’t stop him from visiting his old teammate, Daniel Rowbottom, who’s racing for NAPA Racing UK in the BTCC. Rowbottom posted a video of them on Instagram with a heartwarming caption. He wrote, “@nicolashamilton and I have been hustlin’ together since #cliocup back in 2017 🔥Amazing to see how far we have come, can’t wait to see you back out on track where you belong, big boy 💙🚀”

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Before racing in the BTCC, Hamilton and Rowbottow raced each other in the Renault Clio Cup. Responding to Rowbottom’s message, Hamilton wrote, “Love this, my bro! Hope I can be back racing with you soon 💙” There’s no doubt he’ll give everything to get back to racing. That’s just how the Hamilton family is built. Lewis did it, Nicolas did it, and he won’t let anything stop him from doing it again. 

As Nicolas waits for his time to shine again, here’s another pathbreaking event he was a part of. And it came courtesy of his brother.

Lewis Hamilton and his brother worked together to make F1 history

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In December last year, Nicolas Hamilton became the first disabled driver to drive an F1 simulator. Apart from his brother, Mercedes’ team at Brackley ensured it happened. Lewis Hamilton took to Instagram to describe what it took to make this happen. He wrote, “Earlier this year, Nicolas and I asked my team if we could make this day happen, and here we are. Time in the sim is incredibly rare and not something that is accessible for someone like my brother. It took custom modifications to the seat, steering wheel, and pedals to make this possible.”

Recently, Nicolas gave his take on the experience. He shared a picture of him and Lewis as kids and one of them from the day he tested the simulator. He wrote, “I was ‘cross-eyed’ in the top image due to my difficult birth, not to mention my CP too, with Lewis starting out his motorsport journey. 26 years later, Lewis is 7 time F1 World Champion & I am a history maker in the British Touring Car Championship, being the first disabled athlete in the series, having overcome my condition & proven everyone wrong, with Lewis kitting me in his @mercedesamgf1 race suit, as I become the first disabled driver in the Mercedes F1 Simulator. It is incredible what is actually behind 2 images. 🙏🏾”

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Lewis Hamilton and Nicolas Hamilton’s stories are amazing ones. They are and will always be role models to people all around, trying to make their names in the motorsport industry.

WATCH THIS STORY | Sir Lewis Hamilton Undergoes a Name Change in Mother’s Honor

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Written by:

Aditi Krishnan

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Aditi is an F1 writer at EssentiallySports and is essentially a sportsperson. She fell in love with F1 in 2020. It happened when her brother tuned into that first race weekend in Austria, and she knew right then and there that she had to learn everything she could about the sport.
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Edited by:

Aishwary Gaonkar