Lewis Hamilton reflects on "traumatising" school life

Lewis Hamilton is a seven-time World Champion, known all over the world. An icon, on many levels. Now respected everywhere, but that was far from the case in his youth. In Jay Shetty's podcast, On Purpose, Hamilton discussed his younger years.

Hamilton told Shetty that his school days were the most traumatising and difficult period of his life. The Mercedes driver was bullied as early as the age of six. As one of only three dark-skinned children, he was always the target of ridicule. "I was always the last picked you know when you stand in the playground in a line when they’re picking teams for football, I was always the last one chosen or not even chosen, even if I was better than someone else."

While at school, he was "constantly" bullied, Hamilton said. "And then the constant jabs, the things that are thrown at you, the bananas, people that would use the N word just so relaxed people calling you half cast and just really not knowing where you fit in for me was difficult. When you go into like history class and everything you learn in history there are no people of colour in the history they were teaching us. So I was thinking where are the people that look like me?"

At the age of 16 Hamilton discovered he was dyslexic thanks to a teacher who cared. "I didn’t find out until I was 16 that I was dyslexic, fortunately I came across a teacher that was caring and took me down that road and helped me discover a little bit more about myself, how I can better myself through education," Hamilton added.