Lewis Hamilton arranged for his brother Nicolas to experience Mercedes’ Formula 1 simulator in Brackley after the season finished.
Nicolas, who is seven years younger than his seven-times world champion brother, is a racer in his own right in touring cars. He started off in Renault Clio Cup UK, then moved up to the British Touring Car Championship where he has been racing full-time since 2019.To accommodate the difficulties presented by his cerebral palsy, the younger Hamilton races a modified car in the BTCC. Mercedes also made adjustments to the cockpit in his full-motion rig to make it more accessible for him.
Following the session, which took place around two weeks ago, Hamilton posted several photographs of his brother at Mercedes on social media and explained how the day came about.
“Earlier this year Nicolas and I asked my team if we could make this day happen and here we are,” Hamilton said.
“He spent the whole day in it, and is the first disabled person to ever do so. He’s always been a fighter and seeing him have this day is an honour. The smile you see here never left his face. Can’t wait to share more of this special day, thank you Mercedes for the time and work put in to make this possible and make my brother’s dream come true.”
The process for disabled drivers to acquire race licences was particularly difficult until 2019, when several proposals from the FIA’s Disability and Accessibility Commission were implemented that included a new Certificate of Adaptations for vehicles of disabled drivers.
These rules have made it easier for the likes of Hamilton, Robert Wickens and Alex Zanardi to race in high-level touring car championships.
At the end of 2017, Billy Monger worked with the FIA to remove the ruling that prevented disabled individuals from driving any single-seater cars. He went on to race in Formula 3, winning the Pau Grand Prix.
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@denn (@denn)
13th December 2022, 16:08
so cool, sweet to see good news ^_^
Mayrton
13th December 2022, 17:04
Nice indeed!
Short Circuit (@jjohn)
14th December 2022, 0:02
Now that’s a smile that goes way beyond mouth and eyes.
That’s soul deep.
And the look of what? Contentment/ fulfillment from the champ. (I know but they are TRUE champion qualities).
Best motor racing pic I’ve seen in sixty odd years.
Wes (@ozwes)
14th December 2022, 17:23
@jjon Agree!
pez2k (@pez2k)
15th December 2022, 9:40
If there’s one driver that Lewis has always looked up to, it’s Nic – he’s talked in the past about how he believes Nic is the faster of the Hamilton brothers if it wasn’t for his disability. I believe Nic also fought through a lot of physical therapy in order to attend races and support Lewis, which got him fit enough to be in a position to start racing himself. The two of them seem to be a solid team, and Nic is a genuinely nice guy, so it’s great to see every opportunity he gets.
Moi
13th December 2022, 16:16
So missing a forearm (Kubica) is not considered a disability?
Tim (@tsgoodchild)
13th December 2022, 16:48
He didn’t lose his forearm – it was partially severed in a crash, but he recovered and returned to racing…hardly missing a forearm.
DonSmee (@david-beau)
14th December 2022, 0:59
Robert Kubica is not a disabled person. He lacks nothing in ability. His weak arm is probably stronger than the average person’s.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
15th December 2022, 6:52
That’s a big claim, not sure if you’ve seen how damaged that arm is, I have a hard time thinking someone weighting a normal 60-70 kg doesn’t have a stronger arm than kubica’s injured one.
Dave The Drummer (@davethedrummer)
14th December 2022, 16:13
More of this please, racing teams!