The seven-time Formula One world champion announced his decision in front of a crowd at the 2022 Dubai Expo.
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Seven-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton has revealed that he is changing his name to Larbalestier, his mother’s maiden name. Ahead of this weekend’s season-opening Grand Prix in Bahrain, the seven-time Formula One world champion announced his decision in front of a crowd at the 2022 Dubai Expo.
“It would mean the world to my family [to win an eighth title],” Hamilton said. “It would mean a lot to me knowing that, for example, I am really proud of my family’s name, Hamilton.”
Read More – Christian Horner reveals he turned down opportunity to sign Lewis Hamilton
“None of you might know that my mum’s name is Larbalestier, and I am just about to put that in my name. I don’t fully understand the whole idea that when people get married the woman loses their name, and I really want my mum’s name to continue on with the Hamilton name,” he added.
Hamilton’s mother Carmen and father Anthony divorced when he was a child. Carmen and Anthony later remarried, and Carmen adopted her second husband’s surname, Lockhart. Hamilton did not say when he would change his name or what his full name would be.
“I don’t know if it’ll be this weekend but we’ve been working on it,” he said.
The rivalry that exists currently between Mercedes and Red Bull is something that will surely go down in history as one of the classic Formula One rivalries. It reached its tipping point in the 2021 season when Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes and Max Verstappen of Red Bull went toe to toe and were engaged in a brutal fight for the championship. It culminated with Verstappen winning the driver’s championship and Mercedes winning their eighth consecutive constructor’s championship. However, there was a time when Hamilton was a candidate to partner Sebastian Vettel at Red Bull.
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As per team principal Christian Horner, Hamilton was keen on joining Red Bull during their period of sustained dominance from 2010 to 2013. The Brit was considered an option to replace Mark Webber and partner Vettel. However, Horner decided against signing him at the time as he felt it would not be in the team’s best interests to employ two world championship potential drivers at the same time.
“Lewis and I have had a couple of conversations over the years,” Horner said to the Daily Mail. “From 2010 to 2013, he was very keen to come and drive for Red Bull. We had Sebastian at that time and to have had two alpha drivers wouldn’t have made sense.”
