Being bullied at school toughened me up - Hamilton

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Lewis Hamilton has spoken of how being the target of bullying and racism at school while growing up in Stevenage only made him tougher and more determined to succeed in Formula One.

"I had a lot of racism growing up where I grew up," Hamilton told Complex magazine. "Bullied at school. It definitely encouraged me. It’s like battle wounds - you come out the other side and it just makes you tougher.

"My dad always said, 'Do your talking on the track,' so from day one I always did my talking on the track. 'Let your results speak louder than anything you have to say. You don’t have to say anything to these people.'

"But you know, I had kids shouting stuff, teachers that told me, 'You’re never going to be a racing driver, you’ll never amount to nothing.” Just really just trying to pull you down.'"

Hamilton said that the hostile reaction hadn't let up once he started competing in karting events around the country.

"We arrived, the go-kart was stuffed in the back of the trunk, and all these people had tents and RVs and the best stuff, and we were just so amateur, you know?

"It wasn’t like they stopped - but they all looked," he said. "All eyes are on us. 'What are they doing here?' We were the only black family. And it was just like that every weekend we arrived."

Hamilton said that he'd previously been warned not to speak out about racial issues for fear of upsetting sponsors and fans, but that he felt it was important to speak honestly about such important matters.

"I’ve been in this sport for a long time now and it’s kind of been like, 'Don’t get into that subject, don’t talk too much about it.' It has always been an issue and for sure people in the limelight are guarded about what they’ve built and created.

"I see the things that go on and I feel a certain way about it. But [for me it's about] making sure if you are saying something, if you’re doing something, it’s for the right reasons in the right way. It’s just hard to strike a balance, I think."

Hamilton explained that this was why he was able to shrug off current day criticism of his lifestyle.

"There was a point where I actually cared. And I guess just with age, I got to the point where I don’t need your validation. I know my heart. I know how hard I work. I know my values. I know the love for my family. I know who I am as a person. And I enjoy my life."

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.