Though Lewis Hamilton may be a legendary F1 racer in his own right, the support from his father Anthony isn’t just exclusive to him. In fact, the extent of his compassion was on full display recently and it’s causing a lot of chatter online. Don’t worry, we’ll explain.
At the F1 Grand Prix at Australia over the weekend, the elder Hamilton was there to support his son as he usually has over the years. And though Lewis didn’t come in first place, the younger Hamilton still ended up having a better night than fellow racer Isack Hadjar, a rookie who was making his F1 debut and had been looking up to Lewis for years.
However, what started off as a dream come true for Hadjar quickly turned into a nightmare when he lost control of his car thanks to a damp track and spun into the wall as he rounded the second corner, according to The Athletic. This, in turn, caused Hadjar’s car to become so badly damaged, it couldn’t be repaired. Given the upsetting turn of events and the marred status of his car, Hadjar was visibly overcome with emotion and began crying after it was all said and done.
But that’s when the elder Hamilton stepped in to console Hadjar as he made his way off the tracks, walking with him and speaking to him in a truly heartwarming moment just before his own son was to take on his race.
Speaking to F1 after the fact about what he said to Hadjar, the elder Hamilton said:
As soon as I saw what happened to Isack, my heart fell. And I just felt for him. It was just so sad to see because I know how hard it is when these kids are eight years of age and they dream of becoming a Formula 1 race driver. There’s a lot of pressure all the way up and you’re sitting there on the grid for your first race—and it doesn’t happen.
It’s got to be the worst feeling in the world. And I just felt for him and I just wanted to give him a hug. I felt for him like a father
During an interview with the press after the festivities on Sunday, Hadjar spoke on the moment between he and Lewis’ father, describing the moment as a “nice gesture from him.”
As video of the two’s exchange began to circulate on social media, many online commended the the elder Hamilton for his compassion and class.
“The way Mr. Anthony Hamilton grabbed and hugged Isack Hadjar. The way it felt like its exactly what this young kid needed at that moment - the father of his racing idol coming up to him at what may be the toughest moment in his career so far. THIS is my highlight of the day,” wrote one user on X/Twitter.
“Not me getting emotional over that Isack Hadjar/Anthony Hamilton moment,” said another.
Wrote one other user, “I keep seeing different angles of the anthony hamilton x isack hadjar situation and i can’t get over the way they grabbed each other…anthony was determined to make sure that boy was ok, we need more of that in this sport.”