Hamilton’s electrifying ‘love for the planet’
There’s not much left for Lewis Hamilton to accomplish. Having taken pole in the Portuguese Grand Prix on Sunday, the Brit secured his 92nd F1 win and surpassed Michael Schumacher’s long- standing record. In the process he extended his own podium record while taking another step towards his seventh Drivers Championship — which will leave him tied with the German great.
At 35 years old and in the last year of his contract, Hamilton will surely now be plotting how to best close out his extraordinary legacy. While it’s highly likely that he will remain with Mercedes, nothing is certain under the shroud of a pandemic. Team boss Toto Wolff also joked they would have to have a fire sale to retain the superstar, who’s now on a £40-million annual salary.
“It’s huge. We have to sell plenty of inventory,” Wolff said. “Sell a leaseback of the buildings and just come up with the money.”
While Hamilton looks set on a path to become the greatest ever
in the sport, his legacy may extend beyond the confines of F1. A team owner in the Extreme E electric offroad series set to begin in March, he is casting an eye towards the potential impact of the intriguing new competition.
“When I heard about this I jumped right at it because of what the series means, what the series is going to do. It’s going to be quite powerful,” he said after Sunday’s win.
“It gives an opportunity for me to able to merge my love for motor
racing together with my love for the planet,” said Hamilton.
“It’s going to keep people talking about the climate issue and inspiring us to take action; to have a championship series that will address traditional ways of racing,
and the negative impact motorsports does have on the planet, and offer an alternative.”
Extreme E is set to take place in some of the harshest places on the planet, drawing attention to global warming and pollution.