By CNN
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Lewis Hamilton and the England men’s soccer team share a thing or two in common.
Both are bursting with pride and talent. Both know what it means to carry the hopes and dreams of a nation on one’s shoulders. Both are no strangers when it comes to being front and center in the public eye.
For Hamilton, his arrival onto the global scene came in Melbourne in 2007.
A stunning Grand Prix debut that had the motorsport world abuzz and the great, three-time world champion Niki Lauda calling him the best rookie driver he’d ever seen.
The following year, he would become the sport’s youngest ever champion at just 23 years of age.
A further six titles would follow, equaling the great Michael Schumacher’s record.
For Gareth Southgate and England, the spotlight is in the here and the now as they chase an era-defining first trophy in nearly six decades at Euro 2024 in Germany.
“I remember being young and thrown into the spotlight. I can’t imagine how it is like for those guys that are on the pitch,” the Mercedes driver told CNN Sport’s Amanda Davies at an IWC Schaffhausen event ahead of the British Grand Prix.
“The pressure from the whole country weighing on you. It is tough.
“I’m really, really proud of our team just with all the difficulties that they’ve experienced, and they’ve faced just time and time again, just continuing to get up and the resilience. I think it’s just been really impressive.”
A nation expects
The Three Lions are aiming to write a new chapter in the country’s soccer folklore with expectations heading into this year’s tournament arguably higher than ever before.
Why?
Thanks primarily to a star-studded lineup of names including Real Madrid’s player of the year Jude Bellingham, European football’s top goalscorer last season Harry Kane and the Premier League player of the season Phil Foden, among others.
Both Southgate and the squad, though, have borne the brunt of heavy criticism from former players, pundits and fans alike for their lackluster displays to date.
A stunning escape, though, against Slovakia in the last 16 has tentatively sowed the seeds of an upturn in fortunes.
Hamilton, though, is aware of keeping his feet on the ground.
“I try not to get too amped up! You know how England always is with the World Cup. I don’t want to apply too much pressure.
“We’ve just got such a talented pool of players. We just need them to be in synergy.”
What advice did he wish he’d had received all the way back when the then 22-year-old experienced a stunning breakout year?
“If I was to go back, if I could tell myself in 2007…I could have handled things better; I could have had a better team around me. I think, at the time, I didn’t have a team around me,” he explains.
“People don’t realize, you’re really, really thrown in the deep end, and if you don’t have the right support structure… Family is one thing, but I’m talking about people to help protect you and safeguard you and make sure that you don’t fall down all the pit holes that there are.
“I would probably been in a happier place, probably as a youngster.”
Home pride
Hamilton’s elevation into the public sphere hasn’t just been down to his heart-on-sleeve personality, peerless driving ability and record-breaking feats on the racing track: the most career wins, most pole positions, most podium finishes and most career points to name but a few.
The seven-time drivers’ champion’s feats have inspired a new generation of British drivers.
You only need to look at the class of 2024 to see that in effect with Hamilton joined by teammate George Russell, McLaren’s Lando Norris and Ferrari junior Ollie Bearman who’ll be joining the US-based Haas team next season.
“I think when I was younger, maybe I felt the pressure […] But we have so many British drivers now, so it’s like the pressure’s a bit off,” he laughs.
“It’s nothing to do with me,” he says humbly.
“We just produce really great drivers for some reason. We have a history of it and it’s great to see. I feel very proud to be amongst them.”
Away from the track, the sport’s first and only Black world champion has also become the sport’s conscience. Standing up against injustice and calling for more to be done to address some of the challenges concerning diversity, representation and inclusion in motorsport through his charity, Mission 44.
Last year, Mission 44 delivered outreach programs in Austin, Silverstone and Sao Paulo, positively impacting more than 150 young people.
Emotional year
England’s bid to reach the semifinals at Euro 2024 falls on the same weekend as Hamilton is set to race at the British Grand Prix for the final time for the Silver Arrows.
The Brit stunned the motorsport world earlier this year when it was announced that he would be leaving Mercedes at the end of the year to join Ferrari for the 2025 campaign.
Does he feel emotional at the prospect of a last dance at the iconic Silverstone circuit with his current outfit?
“At the moment, it just feels like another race. Everything feels the same. It feels like we’re still trying to develop. We’re trying to win. We’re trying to progress through the season,” he states.
“We’re so streamlined in our focus and our efforts that I’m not really getting in the emotional state.
“There have been races earlier in the year where I’ve been like ‘This is going to be my last race with Mercedes at this track,’ so maybe when I’m there, I’ll feel that.
“The feelings have been far more or sometimes less than I expected, but it’s definitely an emotional year.”
After dominating the sport through the turbo-hybrid era and winning eight Constructors’ titles in a row from 2014 to 2021, Mercedes’ failure to adapt to the new technical regulations since the 2022 season has seen them slide down the pecking order behind Red Bull and Ferrari.
2023 was especially painful with the team posting a winless season for the first time since 2011.
Fortunately, though, his home race has proved to be a very happy hunting ground with Hamilton winning a record eight times at the circuit.
And this season has seen the team show glimpses of promise.
A third-placed finish for George Russell in Montreal last month was followed by double success – Hamilton securing his first podium finish of the season in Spain and Russell claiming his second ever race win at last weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix.
“This is a huge boost for everyone back at the factory who have been working tirelessly over the last few years and not been getting that success,” says Hamilton.
“When you’ve had so many lows and everyone’s had a difficult time, I think you notice and appreciate the good days more than normal.
“I think when we were winning all the time, it was just, ‘Yeah, we’re winning.’ That’s where I think that was.
“It definitely is more special for them.”
While the 39-year-old hasn’t tasted a race victory since the penultimate race of the 2021 campaign in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the week before he saw his bid for a record-breaking eighth Drivers’ Championship end in controversial circumstances in Abu Dhabi, his status remains undiminished.
What chance then of a win this season to cap off his 12th and final season at Mercedes?
“I think we’re getting closer, and I think last race is showing of that,” he says.
“I think in pure speed in terms of earning it through being the quickest that we can… I don’t feel we’re too far away.”
