Who is Anthony Hamilton? Lewis Hamilton’s father praised online for consoling Isack Hadjar after crash

Lewis Hamilton's father, Anthony Hamilton, is being praised for consoling French Formula 1 driver Isack Hadjar. Hadjar had a disastrous start to his race during the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday after the young racer crashed at Turn 2 and damaged the rear wing of his car.

As the twenty-year-old Hadjar, who is a huge Lewis Hamilton fan himself, stepped out of his car and made his way back to the paddock, Anthony Hamilton was seen embracing the visibly distressed driver and offering him words of support.

Isack Hadjar later described it as an incredibly special moment to receive words of encouragement from Anthony Hamilton, who advised the racer to keep his "head high and improve [himself]," according to RacingNews365.

Anthony Hamilton has long been a guiding influence in his son's life. He has been a pivotal figure who has always encouraged and supported Lewis Hamilton's journey to becoming a racing legend.

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More about Anthony Hamilton, the man behind Lewis Hamilton's rise to F1 success

Anthony Hamilton was born in the UK in 1958, although his family originally came from Grenada. He later married Carmen Larbalestier, and the couple welcomed their only child, Lewis Hamilton, in 1985.

However, they divorced in 1987, when the future Formula 1 racer was just two years old. Anthony Hamilton later married Linda Hamilton, and together, they had one son, Nicholas Hamilton.

After his parents' divorce, Lewis lived with his mother but spent time with his father on the weekends. In his memoir, Lewis Hamilton: My Story, the seven-time Formula One champion reflected on how special those weekends with his father were.

In an excerpt shared by People Magazine, Lewis writes:

“I was very emotionally attached to my dad, and it was difficult only seeing him at the weekends. They were the greatest weekends. I would not have missed them for anything.”

According to Variety, Lewis Hamilton started living with his father and stepmother at twelve years old so that they could better support his passion for racing.

Hamilton received a second-hand go-kart from his father as a Christmas present, planting the seed for his love of racing. It was Anthony Hamilton who repeatedly made sacrifices to support and nurture his son's passion for the sport.

"My dad, and my family, have made more sacrifices than you would believe." Hamilton wrote in his autobiography.

Anthony Hamilton initially worked as an IT professional but later quit his job, taking on four different roles to make his son's dreams a reality. Lewis shared a heartfelt tribute to his father on Facebook, recalling the countless sacrifices Anthony made.

He said:

“So many of you see the success today perhaps without the knowledge of how I got there. My father worked 4 jobs to keep me racing in the early stages. We didn’t always have the best equipment but we did it as a family.”

In a 2020 interview with People Magazine, Lewis said:

"He never had new clothes. He wasn’t saving up to buy anything new. Everything - remortgaging the house multiple times — went into go-karting, which sounds crazy. It is crazy, but he believed so much in me.”

Lewis and Anthony Hamilton's relationship hit a rough patch when Lewis fired his father from the role of his manager just before the Bahrain Grand Prix in 2010.

In his appearance on the One Purpose Podcast in 2023, Lewis Hamilton shared the reason behind his decision. He said:

“I really just wanted him to be my dad. Let’s go and have fun, let’s laugh. We hadn’t had that for a long, long time. We have worked hard to come back together. He’s now the first person I call when I finish a race."

In 2020, Lewis Hamilton tweeted about how his relationship with his father was affected because professional commitments got in the way of their personal relationship.

"My dad and I haven’t had the easiest of relationships. He worked so hard to create an opportunity for us as a family and because of him I am where I am today. In the search for success, with all the pressure it put on us all, we were so immersed in the drive to succeed that we lost sight of what was most important, our relationship… The past couple of years we’ve been growing closer… Family is the most important thing in the world…” Hamilton wrote.

Lewis Hamilton shares a close bond with his extended family and has always credited them for their role in his life, particularly Anthony Hamilton, who was the one who bought him his first remote-controlled car at the age of five.