Lewis Hamilton, over the years, has made it evident that he loves New York City. The Brit has been in awe of the Big Apple since he was a child and earlier this week, Hamilton got to visit the city once more ahead of the Miami GP, and it made him relive his childhood.
Hamilton traveled to New York with Mercedes’ team principal Toto Wolff to be a part of a promotional event organized by WhatsApp, one of the Silver Arrows’ sponsors. This took place at the Empire State Building, one of the most iconic landmarks in the city and Hamilton got to be a part of something special.
Wolff and Hamilton were given the honor of pulling down a lever that turned the Empire State Building green.
While accepting a memento of a miniature replica of the landmark, Hamilton said,
“Incredible to be in the Empire State Building. I remember as a kid watching movies and seeing this incredible iconic building. And I was really fortunate my mom saved up and brought me out here for my 17th birthday. We came and visited and went to the top of this building.
The Stevenage-born driver went on to thank the American public for welcoming not just him and Wolff, but the entire traveling circus warmly. He wished for F1’s continued growth in the US, something that could happen very shortly.
Lewis Hamilton’s wish is already in the works
Since Liberty Media took over, F1 has been actively increasing the sport’s presence in the US. There are three American races on the calendar today- Miami, Austin, and Las Vegas. However, to garner even more eyeballs, F1 wants to replace Austin with New York, per reports.
Hamilton, however, is already carrying forward F1’s plans of introducing racing on the streets of New York City. He is set to drive the W12 on 5th Avenue on 30 April, which will help fuel Chase Cary’s (Formula 1 Management CEO) ambitions.
Liberty Media and FOM always wanted three races in America. Austin has been on the calendar since 2011 and Miami and Las Vegas were added in 2022 and 2023 respectively. Now, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali sees Central Park in New York as an ideal venue for future races in America.
