Racists nearly forced Hamilton out

Eurosport - Tue, 04 Nov 22:33:00 2008

Anthony Hamilton, father of new Formula One world champion Lewis, said racial taunts and abuse had made him doubt whether his son should be competing in the sport.

FORMULA 1 2008 Anthony and Lewis Hamilton - 0

"I was beginning to think maybe this is not the place for my family," Hamilton senior said. "I have never said it to Lewis, you just go home and think 'I didn't think the world was like this'.

"I don't believe it is a racist thing in all honesty. If it is then I don't understand it. I don't think it is just me that's shocked, I think everyone is shocked."

The 23-year-old Lewis became Formula One's youngest world champion when he finished fifth in Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix.

In the countdown to the race, the McLaren driver was targeted by hate messages posted by racist fans on a Spanish website.

"The positive aspect of this (weekend) is not just for people of our colour, it is for everybody," said Anthony.

"The world is in turmoil and I like to think we set an example to remain dignified, have respect for everyone, be honest.

"The booing in the crowd here (Brazil) is maybe something we might not have got in the UK."

In February, Hamilton suffered racial abuse during a test at Barcelona, as fans of Hamilton's rival Fernando Alonso appeared with blacked-up faces and carried offensive banners.

"We are decent people. As a father you want to be protective. We have taken so much stick over the last few weeks and the last few months," Anthony said.

In February Alonso brushed off accusations that Spanish F1 fans were racist - saying he had also been abused.

"This is not a racist country. This was an isolated thing - and the less it is talked about, the better," he said.

"There were people enjoying Carnival and look what happened. They call me a dog and no one comes out in my defence."

Reuters

Comment 358 - 377 of 377

Sort comments by: Most recent

  1. OK I ADMIT I CHEATED!!! SLOWED DOWN MORE THAN I SHOULD,,,BUT IT WAS ONLY CAUSE HAMMY HAD NO OTHER MATES ON THE CIRCUIT,,FELT SORRY FOR HIM,,THOUGH 18 SECS IN 1 LAP DOES TAKE THE PISS A BIT..PLEASE FORGIVE ME..

    KIND REGARDS
    TEAM O GLOCK

    From , on Tue 11 Nov 7:53PM

  2. matt1wyles... the myriad responses i'd normally make are not for consumption by the general public; however, YOU are not worth any one of them... have a good day...

    From sagittarius1958, on Thu 6 Nov 9:39PM

  3. Bill Mac - Well said Gav, who is this saggi bloke anyway?

    Bill, saggi is a woman. I assume her name refers to her tits!

    From Hank Scorpio, on Thu 6 Nov 4:09PM

  4. The problem is not with firewalrus's skin colour, its with his lack of brains. I even corrected your spelling mistakes @#$%.

    From Major Bumsore, on Thu 6 Nov 3:41PM

  5. firewalrus: What ever gave you the impression that anybody wanted to listen to your sad, old, worn out ramblings of your sub-human mind? Eh/

    From Major Bumsore, on Thu 6 Nov 3:38PM

  6. firewalrus: Your full of it/

    From Major Bumsore, on Thu 6 Nov 3:32PM

  7. If, perhaps, maybe, live with it Lewis is OUR World Champion. Great kid, brought a lot of fun back into F1. Great stuff.

    From m.e.jenner@..., on Thu 6 Nov 2:09PM

  8. The probleem is not with Hamiltons skin colour, its with his arrogance.

    Just ask him to drive for a Honda or ForceIndia 2008 or any under rated car and then count how many races he will complete, leave winning..

    A true champion driver should be like Valentino Rossi of MotoGP. He switched to Yamaha, and helped them win their first world championship in 12 years..Now thats called talent and raw power. Hamilton was lucky to get McLaren, but the kid Vettel will be the future champ, just watch him..

    Further, Hamilton won @ TImo Glocks mercy..

    Massa will be remembered for a long time as a true fighter, but Hamilton wont get that respect from F1 fans.

    From Harshad, on Thu 6 Nov 1:56PM

  9. Hamilton will eventually disappear..

    From Harshad, on Thu 6 Nov 1:52PM

  10. gavin, you're right, i don't know the hamiltons, then again, you don't know me... back off...

    From sagittarius1958, on Wed 5 Nov 9:18PM

  11. I've come up with a cunning plan - stop answering their nonsense - ignore them - then see what happens !

    From m.e.jenner@..., on Wed 5 Nov 7:02PM

  12. Well said Gav, who is this saggi bloke anyway?

    From BigBill, on Wed 5 Nov 6:34PM

  13. Im sorry Geezer on a Duke but maybe you can sit and read @#$% without reply I cannot. It burns me that this person feels slighted in some way by the hamiltons, people that she has never met. And tries to talk with some authority about racism, something she obviously knows nothing about. Using Lewis supposed arrogance as a reason for her hateful spite.

    From Gavin F, on Wed 5 Nov 6:32PM

  14. Saggi to gavin. Race,race,race,race,race. Gavin to saggi.Race,race,race,race,race. What about the REAL race?.Shut the @#$% up,were sick of it.BAAARRF.no peace,no love,No grazie!MOVE ON DAMMIT!

    From Geezer on a duke, on Wed 5 Nov 6:23PM

  15. Nice try Saggi! but I do not need you to simplify anything you say. The first thing you say in your post is and i quote " what Hamiltons dad is expecting is preferential treatment" Where did you get that from????????? nothing in his statement pointed to this. This is YOU! putting your spin on him being asked a question about racism in F1 and him simply replying truthfuly as he saw it. Now I will say the rest of your post is a statment against racism of a sort apart from the "Move on" silly statement that only someone who knows absolutely nothing of what racism truly is! the many different ways it can raise its ugly head and how it can make you feel if you have experanced it. But of course how could YOU! know this. BUT! that first line of your post is something that makes me feel that if it is not racism then you have some sort of irrational hate for Hamiton senior to make such a stupid and foolish statement. Whats up! has he upset you because he looked after his son when his wife left him??. That! he worked 3 jobs to give his son his dream and give his other disabled son the best he could provide????? seems his face upsets you. well tough. live with it. "MOVE ON"

    From Gavin F, on Wed 5 Nov 6:13PM

  16. HEY bigbadmadjoe. You got a new boss back in Uncle Sam.

    From Geezer on a duke, on Wed 5 Nov 6:06PM

  17. PS theres a new kid in the driving seat.How about Well done?

    From Geezer on a duke, on Wed 5 Nov 6:03PM

  18. Any chance we might stop talking about r---?.Every time it is mentioned,it gains momentum.Stop posting comments of that ilk,and slowly but surely,it will sink into yesterday,where it belongs.Lets talk intelligently about the sport we love,and pay less attention to rubbish that should be beneath us,as decent human beings. Enough is enough. FORZA anything red.grazie.

    From Geezer on a duke, on Wed 5 Nov 6:00PM

  19. gavin... i also said that we can NOT make up for the past; that is, we can NOT bend over backwards and create a situation where-ANY-race is given preferential treatment over-ANOTHER-race, because in the end this is-STILL-RACISM... get it now?? if not, let me know and i will endeavour to simplify this futher for you...

    From sagittarius1958, on Wed 5 Nov 5:20PM

  20. gavin, you seem to have MISSED the point i was making. i did NOT deny the existence-of-racism... what i did say is that what we need to do TODAY is to educate our young in order to KEEP CHANGING racist-attitudes that are UNacceptable... i also said that we need to be diligent in our treatment of fellow human beings-REGARDLESS-of-race...

    From sagittarius1958, on Wed 5 Nov 5:15PM
Sort comments by: Most recent

Not already a Yahoo! user ? to get a free Yahoo! Account