Lewis Hamilton says he stripped off on the podium after winning the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix because he wanted to draw attention to his ‘Still I Rise’ tattoo.
“I’ve always wanted to do it,” said Hamilton. “I wanted to show ‘Still I Rise’ and I think it was the perfect moment because that’s really how it’s been this year.”Hamilton said he had taken inspiration from the Maya Angelou poem as well as from Billy Monger, the Formula Three driver who returned to racing this year after losing parts of both legs in a crash last year.
“I really would encourage anyone who doesn’t know what ‘Still I Rise’ is, it’s a poem, please go and read it,” said Hamilton. “It applies to anybody who’s stumbling and falling.
“Like Billy Monger, he’s been an inspiration to me this year, which I’m sure he’ll find really strange because he probably looks up to me in the sense that he wants to be in Formula 1. But what he’s done, and so many people who’ve gone through difficult times, that’s really what ‘Still I Rise’ is all about.
“I’m trying to be as big a spokesman I can be about it. So that’s really why I did it.”
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budchekov (@budchekov)
25th November 2018, 16:33
Automatic yellow card? Lewis sure knows how to play the game, Liberty should pay him a promotional fee, he’s their No 1 asset.
Jere (@jerejj)
25th November 2018, 16:39
LOL.
budchekov (@budchekov)
25th November 2018, 16:43
@ I like where he did it.. ;)
Next up, playing keyboards with G N’ R?
David BR (@david-br)
25th November 2018, 17:14
@budchekov +1 Not quite what the hosts were expecting maybe.
DaveW (@dmw)
25th November 2018, 16:58
I keep the same words on a note on my desk and like a lot of people hold them dear, but I can show them at the office with my shirt on. I’m not going to clutch my pearls too hard though. I feel like tattoos are the norm for millennials and those younger now, and I suppose they are there to be seen other than by one’s spouse or masseuse.
Nulla Pax (@nullapax)
25th November 2018, 17:10
I am conflicted by Lewis.
He has worked hard to be the best in his field and isn’t scared to be himself and I admire anyone with the balls to defy convention.
Sometimes though – he can really seem like a bit of a ……..
Brett Woods (@pertwee)
25th November 2018, 17:25
Yeah, a game changer..
David BR (@david-br)
25th November 2018, 17:39
My litmus test is ‘would Jeremy Clarkson approve?’ The Shoey? Yes? Body tattoos and Maya Angelou? No.
So a good podium result all round.
verstappen (@verstappen)
25th November 2018, 17:57
A whole new “what would JC do?”
William Jones
25th November 2018, 20:16
Having worked with Jeremy Clarkson for years, I think you don’t understand that what you see is a carefully crafted character. You have next to no idea what the real man would or would not approve of, and his character approves or disapproved of whichever is funnier that week
David BR (@david-br)
25th November 2018, 20:45
@William Jones
That may be true, but obviously I’m talking about what the ‘Jeremy Clarkson’ persona would approve, not what the ‘Real Jeremy Clarkson’ thinks, which, as you say, I’ve no idea about, but I’m willing to accept is probably more real than, say, the Real Donald Trump… :o)
BasCB (@bascb)
29th November 2018, 15:14
Sorry there @david-br, but I think the simple fact it’s about a Poem, and would require someone to go and read a bit, would automatically set off alarmbells for JC.
To me, it is actually great to see this. I really dug the moment. Why? Because it was not a “Manly gorilla beating on his chest showing tattoos” moment, but instead it was him taking an oppertunity to show the world what motivates him. It was made better by Vettel and Verstappen both hosing him down with rose water.
The explaining of it, referencing reading, a poem, and how he feels motivated and inspired by a guy like Billy Monger and by the poem only makes it even more of a great moment IMO.
David BR (@david-br)
29th November 2018, 18:15
@bascb Couldn’t agree more.
BasCB (@bascb)
29th November 2018, 18:44
:-)
Todfod (@todfod)
25th November 2018, 18:01
@nullapax
Feel the same
Andrey Baydin (@minilemm)
25th November 2018, 18:08
Hard not to cringe sometimes, isnt it?
#blessed
Patrick (@paeschli)
27th November 2018, 19:37
He’s like Senna in that respect
Phylyp (@phylyp)
25th November 2018, 17:22
Can anyone ever imagine Ron Dennis allowing this when Hamilton was at McLaren? Credit to Mercedes as well for giving him this freedom. Not a fan of what he did, but hey, to each their own.
Ali
25th November 2018, 18:12
I think we should please ourselves more often and not try to please others so much. We are a nation of people pleasers but we should live our lives how we want to live them. Why do some people think they can dictate how others conduct themselves. They should mind their own business and get on with their agenda and stop interfering with others.
Todfod (@todfod)
25th November 2018, 17:56
“Still I rise” was what he was showing!
I don’t know if he realised that to most of the audience it looked like he stripped down to show the cross on his back in an Islamic country.
Tango (@tango)
25th November 2018, 18:06
Yeah, I think he got carried away here. But I have to say I do admire what he brings to the sport. In the car and out of it.
Jere (@jerejj)
25th November 2018, 18:07
@todfod Good point. I hadn’t thought of it that way.
MrBoerns (@mrboerns)
25th November 2018, 18:22
Yeah, i also thought it was a bit in-your-face-ish @todfod . Have to say i’m generally surprised (in a positive way) nobody seems to be making a fuss about it, actually.
Phylyp (@phylyp)
25th November 2018, 18:53
@mrboerns – what can they do? Ban F1? :-) That would be counterproductive to their aim of hosting F1, and would probably end up making many fans happier!
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
26th November 2018, 23:37
@phylyp They could fine Lewis for it (in theory – in practise, I think it is only enforced in shopping malls sporadically, and in mosques for obvious reasons). He’d probably think the press from it would be worthwhile, and it would make the conservative elements of the nation more content. I’m sort of surprised they didn’t, given the cultural expectations to keep torsos covered in public applies to men and women alike in the UAE.
Phylyp (@phylyp)
27th November 2018, 2:05
@alianora-la-canta – thank you
William Jones
25th November 2018, 20:18
Is the cross not a holy symbol to Muslims? They do after all believe in Jesus and his crucifixion and resurrection.
Mark
25th November 2018, 20:48
Are you sure? I was under the impression they believe Christ to be a prophet and nothing more. Could be wrong though.
David BR (@david-br)
25th November 2018, 23:08
Not generally in the crucifixion or resurrection.
Will Jones
26th November 2018, 2:48
You’re right, they believe someone else was crucified in his place and so when he turns up later, it wasn’t because he came back to life as he was never dead.
Honestly makes a lot more sense, why in the Bible does Jesus ask God why he has forsaken him, when it earlier reveals that Jesus knew the plan
BasCB (@bascb)
29th November 2018, 18:42
Will Jones – pretty much because the “new testament” part is not written by a single author but by several who relate more or less the same events from their own points of view. So some mentions different things than others. Since none of them were written before centuries after “the fact”, it’s all interpretation and 3rd hand stories anyway.
Markp
25th November 2018, 22:43
If he did it to show the cross in that hell hole area of the world then God bless him. Careful though the camel huggers will have you for spying.
Jason Blankenship (@jblank)
26th November 2018, 1:24
Agree 100%, Markp.
Mr Ed
26th November 2018, 5:51
Nothing like a bit of casual racism to brighten the morning.
Fudge Kobayashi (@)
26th November 2018, 13:22
Except Matthew Hedges has already been pardoned with immediate effect. And the ‘hell hole’ you describe is home to thousands of very happy British expats making a living in hospitality, law, real estate and starting families in a country largely devoid of gun and knife crime.
I lived in Dubai for 5 years investing and running nightclubs no less. Never had anything but great times and no trouble with the law.
No place for rhetoric like this here @keithcollantine
Kerry Maxwell (@kerrymaxwell)
28th November 2018, 17:58
Hear, hear.
Big Joe
25th November 2018, 20:12
No problem with this myself. Would have been funnier if he’d have removed his toupe though.
Taimur (@invictus)
26th November 2018, 12:48
Does he wear a toupe? I’m not sure. I thought he had a surgical hair transplant.
Big Joe
25th November 2018, 20:15
They may as well have given Button some more penalty points today.
Big Joe
25th November 2018, 20:17
That was meant for the Alonso thread.
MaliceCooper
25th November 2018, 20:43
My first reaction was “He’s just showing off!”. But then I thought – hang on, he’s got good reason to feel pride in his achievements and take strength from his inspirations. He’s a 5 time champion. Like him or not he’s claimed his place as one of the all-time greats. We get so used to people towing the corporate line that its shocking when Max attacks, Alonso sunbathes, or Lewis strips.
Mark in Florida
25th November 2018, 21:14
Still I rise, isn’t that the catchphrase for Viagra? I found the whole episode rather tasteless.
Penator (@pauldstar)
26th November 2018, 14:12
LOL!
Matthijs (@matthijs)
25th November 2018, 21:36
I had no problem with it, but when was he “stumbling and falling”?
macradar (@macradar)
25th November 2018, 23:01
(@matthijs) in karting he took a lot of flak. those racial slurs last a lifetime. I’m ex SA so I know exactly how he feels.
What I do feel though is that he is such an ambassador for the sport that I wish he hadn’t done what he did because most people will just misinterpret it.
It looks like a christian dig at an islamic audience which I feel absolutely sure it wasn’t.
In my opinion it takes great courage and inner strength not to react.
erikje
26th November 2018, 17:29
showing great courage and inner strength.
CC
25th November 2018, 22:36
What is with the whole Will Smith thing? Is he from Stevenage or something?
macradar (@macradar)
25th November 2018, 23:03
an aging actor seeking the limelight. I would say raining on someone else’s parade.
KGN11
26th November 2018, 3:58
Will Smith seeking limelight? Lol
Phylyp (@phylyp)
26th November 2018, 4:07
Are Will Smith and Hamilton friends? Or is the Middle East a popular market for Will Smith’s films? Liberty being media-savvy, they’re probably making the best use of an opportunity.
CC
26th November 2018, 4:50
Before Hamilton had a championship he had Nicole Zingerburger hanging around. Five championships deep I was expecting more than the Fresh Prince from the 90’s.
Markp
26th November 2018, 11:54
He is now doing what he wants not whats expected so is now confident to show he bats for tge other side. All power to him.
Seann (@canuckfan)
26th November 2018, 3:38
A man of ethics and compassion.
Lewis is a Champion in life and on the track.
Phylyp (@phylyp)
26th November 2018, 3:55
Hm, I wonder why the picture was changed, the earlier one had all 3 drivers in it.
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
26th November 2018, 23:46
@phylyp Probably to show the subject of the article (the tattoo) more clearly.
NewVerstappenFan (@jureo)
26th November 2018, 6:44
What is a problem, a sportsman takes of his top after winning an important event… why does this bother people?
Now if a sports woman took the top of it would at least be interesting, but this is nothing to mention.
Alex
26th November 2018, 21:48
Sexist!
Ed
26th November 2018, 11:41
I hope he does not do this again.