Lewis Hamilton may have achieved a huge name for himself through his F1 success by winning multiple races and championships. Still, the 39-year-old does not want to see his children take up racing, despite having spent almost two decades competing at the pinnacle of motorsport.
In a conversation with Channel 4 Sport in 2022, he said, “I just hope that when I have, if I have kids, they don’t want to be racing drivers”. When asked to explain his rationale, Hamilton replied,
“When you look at our sport, when you look at all the ex-drivers, then their kids come through…it’s different for the kids coming through, right? I don’t want…firstly, that pressure to be there. And I don’t…because then people say [that] you only got there because your name is Senna or so and so.”
Hamilton then concluded that he would rather have his children take lessons from Serena Williams and want them to be the next tennis champion or something. There is a good reason why the British driver is hesitant to see his kids wanting to take up motorsport as the children of past drivers have indeed faced immense criticism when they have struggled to deliver.
Michael Schumacher’s son, Mick Schumacher seems to be the perfect example. The 25-year-old German driver faced a lot of criticism when he failed to deliver in his two seasons with Haas back in 2021 and 2022. Not only did Mick lose his seat back then, but the criticism against him did not stop even after that.
And it is not just Hamilton who is hesitant about the prospects of his children wanting to race. So is reigning world champion Max Verstappen. However, the Dutchman has other reasons.
Verstappen revealed he wants his kids to pursue their passions
In an interview earlier this year, Verstappen made it clear that he does not want to be a parent who forces their children to do something they are not interested in. The 26-year-old stated that only if his children are keen on pursuing racing themselves, he will support them.
When asked about the same, Verstappen replied, “No, if he or she wants to race and I see the potential, I would go for it. I would never actively push”.
Since Verstappen himself is the son of a former F1 driver, he is well aware of the pressure that comes with his name tag, as Hamilton alluded to in his interview.