MONTREAL: When Lewis Hamilton first decided as a young child that he wanted to drive in Formula One, he had no black role models in the sport. Instead, he found his inspiration elsewhere: boxer Muhammad Ali.
“I think he was just a unique, iconic individual who had a character unlike anyone else’s. And everyone aspired to be like him,” Hamilton said on Sunday after picking up his second victory of the Formula One season by winning the Canadian Grand Prix for the second straight year.
“I wish I could have spoken with the charisma that he would have, or the comedic side that he had, that confidence that he could carry into a fight and outwit and outsmart his opponents,” Hamilton said after dedicating the victory to Ali, who died last week.
“And then there are the things that he stood for... As a kid, when I saw that, I think I was like: ‘This is the guy I want to be like.’”
Ali was a three-time world heavy weight champion. Hamilton, the first black driver to compete full-time for the Formula One championship, could claim his fourth F1 crown if he keeps going like this.
{{/usCountry}}Ali was a three-time world heavy weight champion. Hamilton, the first black driver to compete full-time for the Formula One championship, could claim his fourth F1 crown if he keeps going like this.
{{/usCountry}}Nico Rosberg won the first four races of the year to establish a 43-point lead in the standings. But he and Hamilton crashed out in the first lap in Barcelona, two races ago, and Rosberg came in seventh two weeks ago in Monaco; Hamilton’s victory there trimmed the lead from 43 points to 24.
Now the gap is down to nine after Hamilton and Rosberg, starting 1-2 on the grid, bumped again at the start and the German fell back to 10th before the very first turn on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.