Lewis Hamilton has announced he is changing his surname.
The 37-year-old Formula One legend revealed the news while speaking onstage at Expo 2020 Dubai.
He explained, 'I’m really proud of my family’s name: Hamilton. Actually none of you might know that my mum’s [sur]name is Larbalestier. And I’m just about to put that in my name. Because I don’t really fully understand the whole idea of why, when people get married, the woman loses her name. I really want her name to continue on with the Hamilton name.'
When pressed about whether the name change would happen in time for the weekend, when the new season starts in Bahrain, Lewis replied, 'It will be soon. No, I don’t know if it will be this weekend. But we’re working on it,' The Telegraph reports.
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Hamilton mostly grew up with his father Anthony and stepmother Linda, after his dad separated with mum Carmen when he was young.
The Mercedes driver's career is a glittering one, with his seven World Drivers’ Championship titles a joint record alongside Michael Schumacher. He holds the records for the most wins (103), most pole positions (also 103) and most podium finishes (182).
At the 2022 F1 World Championship, Hamilton will be hoping to win back the title after losing out to Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen last year.
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Fans will remember 2021's championships to be one of the most exciting and dramatic competitions, probably ever, as Verstappen and Hamilton battled it out to the end, with the Dutchman coming out on top for his first world title.
The loss, which broke the Brit's seven-win streak, proved to be an almighty blow for Hamilton, resulting from a final lap overtake at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
However, in a recent interview with Sky Sports, Hamilton assured that he shares a mutual 'respect' with Verstappen.
'For me and Max, we’re seeing each other in the paddock, things are normal,' he told fellow pro racing driver Naomi Schiff. 'We are two individual drivers who have a lot of common in the sense of how much we love doing what we do, driving.
'On the other side, we’re ruthless. He is ruthless, that’s how you have to be, I would imagine in business but hopefully with a bit of compassion. But we are fighters out there, there’s no friends on track.
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'Some days we get it right, some days we get it wrong, but what’s important is when we get back out, we are human beings and we do keep respect.'
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Topics: Sport
