Hamilton motivates outside of F1: "I've looked up to him since"
General
- GPblog.com
Nineteen-year-old tennis star Emma Raducanu won the US Open in 2021 and has been named as a possible contender for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award. The tennis player met Lewis Hamilton this year and thinks the Mercedes driver, in particular, should win that award this year.
Hamilton is great example
Raducanu wrote history by winning the US Open. It was her first major tournament and she won the trophy while being ranked 150th in the world. Shortly after her win, she met Hamilton at the Met Gala in New York. There she received advice from the seven-time world champion. That advice she shares with F1.com.
Raducanu: "We had a very good conversation there and since then I look up to him, follow him and support him. It's cool when we meet it's fun. He said, 'Be patient. You just have to ride the wave. It's all good, don't worry.' Good advice. He's a good example for me in terms of what I need to do in the next stages of my career."
Raducanu grants Hamilton the prize
Raducanu doesn't need to win the BBC award herself. She grants that honour to the driver. Raducanu: "I haven't really thought about it yet. For me, it is something that seems so far beyond the realm of possibility. No, definitely not. I'm rooting for Lewis in this race." Whether she also wishes him his eighth F1 title, she doesn't pronounce, but it's clear to see that she also hopes her countryman wins that race from Max Verstappen.