Lewis Hamilton Voices Against Pay Drivers, Asks FIA to Pitch In and Help

Recently, Mercedes driver and six-time F1 champion, Lewis Hamilton, made his 3rd appearance on the Graham Norton Show. During the talk show, the reigning champion opened up on numerous subjects.

One such topic is an issue that has plagued Formula One for a long time, wealthy drivers vs talented drivers. According to the Briton, opportunities have become a lot more scarce for drivers from less-than-privileged backgrounds.

Hamilton himself came from a working class background prior to his big break into Formula 1. He even lamented that the prospects for such drivers has “got a lot worse” since he came into the sport.

“My dad spent something like £20,000 and remortgaged the house several times in the first years,” said Hamilton. “But today it’s just got so expensive. There are very few, if [any] working-class families on their way up. It’s all wealthy families.”

“I’ve got a friend of mine who was nearly in Formula 1 and then he got leapfrogged by a wealthy kid and then his opportunity was gone,” Hamilton added. “So I do want to somehow get it back to basics.”

The 34-year old divulged that his family funded his karting career until he was picked up by former McLaren boss Ron Dennis. Lewis Hamilton disseminated that, at time, his family would have no money to race. To that end, he praised his father, and later manager, Anthony Hamilton.

“If my dad hadn’t done the work he did and if I didn’t get signed when I was 13 by Ron Dennis then I wouldn’t be sitting in front of you today, I’d be doing something different.”

On a parting note, he called on Formula 1 to encourage more talented drivers from less wealthy backgrounds. Another good example is 2007 world champion and F1 veteran, Kimi Raikkonen, who also came from a relatively under-privileged background.