Formula 1 world champion, Lewis Hamilton has revealed that young black kids don’t have the same opportunity in the sport.

Hamilton who is a seven time F1 champion disclosed this during an interview on BBC Radio 4’s program on Saturday, December 26.

The 35-year-old who is the only black F1 driver said that “there are many other young kids of colour that deserve the opportunity to progress, have a great education, [who could] be an engineer or whatever it is they want. But the fact is, the opportunity is not the same for them.”

Hamilton who echoed the Black Lives Matter campaign in F1 following the killing of George Floyd in the United States, revealed that “I had this extra drive in me to get to the end of those races.”

“It was a different drive than what I’ve had in me in the past – to get to the end of those races first so that I could utilise that platform [for Black Lives Matter] and shine the light as bright as possible,” he added.

Asked by Olusoga if he had been concerned about the response to his stance, Hamilton replied: “There is no way that I could stay silent. And once I said that to myself, I didn’t hold any fear.”

Hamilton also hinted that activism might be his next focus when he retires from racing.

“The happiness and success of winning these championships is a wonderful thing, but it’s short lived,” Hamilton added.

His activism against racism earned him the given the game-changer prize at the GQ Men Of The Year Awards.