Dear Lewis,
You are not useless.
You are the Greatest Of All Time. A star that shines so bright, the world is bathed in your spark. You light up galaxies far, far away.
You’re ours, Children who grew up with parents who worked three, four jobs to make ends meet and gave us the audacity to hope.
You’re ours, Children who grew up on council estates in Britain never knowing different but always hoping for different.
You’re ours, Children of immigrants existing in a world that often tries to deny our humanity.
You’re ours, Children who have never seen themselves in spaces because we were never allowed entry or could not afford the fee.
You are ours, Children with the wildest dreams and the courage to chase them because you led the way.
This is a weird season in your life, but a blip on the radar of your legacy, one that shows the beauty of your heart and the humanity at its core. One that shows the hard work you put in every moment of everyday, and the many frustrations when things don’t go according to plan. Them’s the breaks, but you’ll never be broken. It is simply human of you to feel it the way you do. Thank you for showing us the vulnerability of the human spirit.
You’re not useless, you are unstoppable.
If you don’t believe anything, believe the words of the girl who woke up at the crack of dawn to watch your races whilst always running late. Who didn’t get to bed early enough bed being the couch in the living room because that was where the TV was, so I could watch your races.
Watch you make history as the youngest F1 World champion in 2008. The last McLaren driver to do so.
Watch you become the drive with the most F1 race wins.
Watch you become the driver with the most F1 championships and that is counting the one they stole from you and yet you held your head high.
You may never know or understand what you meant to the girl I was, but you meant, still mean, the world to many of us. You carry us into spaces we were never meant to be, and you shine brighter than the stars in the sky. To watch you carry the sport the way you do is to know that you have elevated it in ways they will never understand.
You’re one of one but you’re Sparta.
When you eventually decide to leave, the sport will be the poorer without your presence because they will lose the heart of it, so I hope you stick around long after your racing years, for there will never be another like you.
You’re not useless. You’re unequalled.
You’re Lewis Hamilton no sir needed.
You’re not useless. You are unparalleled.
A legend long before the championships.
You’re not useless. You’re unrivalled.
An icon long before the most races won.
You’re not useless. You’re unmatched.
A star long before the most titles won.
You’re the kid who did the impossible.
You’re the man who broke all records.
You’re the giant whose shoulders we stand upon.
You are Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton.
Arise.