Lewis Hamilton says he is ‘racing for something much, much bigger’ as he opens up about racial abuse

Sir Lewis Hamilton has opened up about how he deals with racial abuse, and how he aims to make Formula 1 a more diverse sport.

The former world champion was speaking in a week where the issue of racism in motorsport has been highlighted again after a video of Nelson Piquet using a racial slur when discussing Hamilton emerged, sparking widespread condemnation of the Brazilian and support for the British sporting legend.

In addition, Red Bull terminated the contract of their junior driver and F2 racer Juri Vips after he used the same word during a live stream on Twitch last week.

In an interview with Sky Sports, Hamilton discussed the abuse he had received and offered advice to those going through similar situations: ‘It saddens me to think that we still live in a time where so many of us face this, but it takes a long time to change.

‘If you look back at history, Martin Luther King and the things that he was doing back then, we’re still fighting things like that today and it’ll continue.

‘I read a really cool book called The Four Agreements and one of the agreements was to not take things personally. I don’t really read what’s online, what’s been written about me, I try not to give it energy.’

Hamilton has been leading the fight against discrimination within the sport, setting up several charities and organisations that aim to diversify the people working in F1 and hand opportunities to young people from underrepresented backgrounds.

Now 37, Hamilton’s career on the track is beginning to wind down, but he claims his campaigning work has only just begun.

‘I feel like I’m living my purpose,’ the Mercedes driver added.

‘It’s tough but I was built to withstand this. I always wondered why was I the only black driver to come through,