Lewis Hamilton has spoken in depth about his deep-rooted connection with fashion within Formula 1, commenting: “Black men have always had to be more excellent than our white counterparts.”
Seven-time F1 world champion Hamilton, 40, will co-host next month’s Met Gala in New York, having first attended the fashion event in 2015. The Briton also hosted a table for young black designers at the 2021 Met Gala.
Hamilton has, in recent years, attracted attention upon arriving in the F1 paddock with his own choice of bold attire, bucking the trend of drivers arriving in team-branded gear. Now, the sport’s only black driver has described how the stale world of mid-2000s F1 reacted to his initial clothing choices.
“Black men have always had to be more excellent than our white counterparts,” Hamilton said, in an article for the Met issue of Vogue magazine.
“I’ve seen that with my father and with me – we needed to be overachievers.
“Just before I got to Formula 1, I remember being looked up and down by a boss, and he definitely wasn’t impressed with what I was wearing. I was probably in [sportswear brand] FUBU and Timbs [Timberland shoes].
“I remember thinking: ‘Shoot, I’ve really got to fit into this mould.’ And my dad expected me to fit into that mould too.”
Hamilton then went into more depth about his rookie 2007 season, when he finished second in the world championship for McLaren, and “feeling horrible” in team kit.
“When I first signed with F1, I was only allowed to wear suits and team kits, and it was horrible,” he added. “I didn’t feel comfortable, and I didn’t feel like I was able to be myself.
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“Eventually, I had the courage to push beyond those boundaries and say: ‘Look, I want to turn up to the track in what I want to wear. I’m here now – you can’t get rid of me or change the way I dress.’
“The pushback was massive, but when the sport saw the impact of my little runway, other drivers started doing the same thing.”
Ironically, Hamilton has actually only worn his own attire on five out of 18 track days so far this season – his first for Ferrari.
Hamilton is currently seventh in the F1 drivers’ standings, 52 points off championship leader Lando Norris, ahead of round five this weekend in Saudi Arabia.
The British driver is chasing a record-breaking eighth world championship this year with the Scuderia, after 12 years and six world titles with Mercedes.
