Hamilton: 'Bizarre that people still can't be themselves everywhere'

'Even if it kills me'

Over the past few years, Hamilton has been increasingly championing human rights, especially in places where they are violated. In 2020, he was heavily involved in the 'Black Lives Matter' movement. Hamilton explains that this was an important year for him: "It was an uproar of people finally standing up and saying enough was enough of what was happening around the world. This was a really tough year because I'd gone through the sport as the only person of colour from my whole career. I remember coming to the first race wearing a Black Lives Matter T-shirt, and I remember Seb standing by me and taking the knee with me. We stood arm in arm against lots of different causes. I was grateful for Seb being with me."

At the Qatar Grand Prix, the Brit wore a helmet with a rainbow on it to stand up for the LGBT+ community. According to Hamilton, it is bizarre that it is still necessary: "For me, it is mind-blowing that we live in a time still where there are so many countries around the world but particularly a lot of human rights issues in the middle east. Women's rights, LGBT rights. There are laws that restrict people from being their true selves. I have always been a risk taker, and like 'I'm going to do this whether or not they throw me in jail, I don't care what they're going to do'. I would stand for something I believe in, even if it kills me."