Nicolas Hamilton says the achievements of his older brother Lewis are proof that any dream can be achieved and any record broken.
The younger Hamilton brother was a guest on the latest edition of the ESPN F1 Podcast, talking about his own racing career in the British Touring Car Championship as well as his involvement in eSports through Red Bull’s V10-R League.
But speaking about Lewis’ recent victory at the Nurburgring, which put him level with Michael Schumacher as the driver with the most Formula One wins in history, Nicolas said it was remarkable to think about how much his brother had achieved.
“I’ve been Lewis’ number one fan since day one,” he told ESPN F1 Podcast host Alexis Nunes. “Lewis has millions and millions of fans around the world who say they’re his number one fan, but I would definitely say no-one is a bigger fan than myself.
“I’m so proud of him. To see him develop into an incredible human, from someone from Stevenage not really having a dream or anything, to now being such an amazing athlete and figurehead for the world generally and to be classed this year as one of the most inspirational people of 2020 in the world, it’s incredible.
“Just one win in a Formula One car is an amazing achievement, but to have done that 91 times and match Michael Schumacher… when we were growing up every racing kid wanted to wear a replica of Michael Schumacher’s helmet. Now you go to a local kart circuit and they’re wearing replicas of Lewis Hamilton’s helmet.
“At the time it was ‘I wanna be the next Michael Schumacher’, now it’s ‘I wanna be the next Lewis Hamilton’. Which is incredible because we were just a poor Black family from Stevenage, we didn’t really know where we were going.
“It shows now that any dream can be achieved and any record can be broken is incredible.
“Where can he go? I want to see how far he can take it. But I know Lewis won’t be thinking about that, he’ll just be thinking about winning races.”
Nicolas has cerebral palsy, which is the most common childhood motor disability globally and one that affects roughly one in 400 children in the U.K..
Growing up, he thought he would never be able to forge a career as a racing driver, but since 2011 he has worked his way up to the British Touring Car Championship and this year became the first disabled driver to score a point in the series’ history.
In the podcast, he told Nunes about his remarkable journey to reach one of British motorsport’s premier categories and the challenges he faced along the way.
“Motorsport is a really tough industry and there are a lot of people in the world who think because of who my brother is and all the money he has and how successful he is, that that is the reason why I am where I am today,” Hamilton said. “They believe that he is the person that puts all the money into my motorsport and allows me to continue in motorsport, whereas I’ve been trying to tell my story and be open about it.
“As you speak to me today on this podcast, I sit in my two-bedroom apartment in Hertfordshire, England, where I pay for everything myself. At this desk and on this screen, I create my motorsport career for myself. I contact all of my sponsors and I do everything I can to raise money and funds.
“If I don’t raise the funds, I don’t race. I don’t go to Lewis and knock on his door and say, ‘Hey bro, I know you’ve got loads of money, can you give me a couple of million pounds to race?’
“I’ve always said his money is his money and he should do whatever he wants with it and not to spend anything on me. And even if he gave me money, I wouldn’t accept it because I’m a grafter and I believe in creating opportunities for yourself.
“I’m basically a marketing director, a CEO and a racing driver all in one, because I have to understand why brands would want to partner with me and sponsor me and give me the support I need to race, because if I don’t have the money I don’t race. It’s so difficult to get what you need, especially being a Hamilton because they think it’s all a bed of roses.
“But it can also be a very difficult place when you are in the shadow of your brother and he is taking the world by storm — which I am so, so proud of — but also people are very quick to judge me as an individual and where I’ve come from, who I am and what I do.
“Obviously the Hamilton brand is helpful, and what Lewis does is helpful because it gives me a foot in the door, but brands also partner with me as a person and because of my journey, because of my story and because of what I do not just for disabled people, but able people as well.
“I try to use my story to try to inspire people in all walks of life.”
For the full interview and more detail on Hamilton’s remarkable story, click here.