SWEET DREAMS
Lewis Hamilton admits he dreamed of matching Michael Schumacher’s record of seven world titles
LEWIS HAMILTON revealed he's secretly dreamed about matching Michael Schumacher's seven world titles.
The Brit stormed to victory in the Turkish Grand Prix on Sunday to seal another driver's championship in his glittering career.
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It took him level with the great Schumacher in a record some thought could never be matched.
An emotional Hamilton, 35, said: "My whole life I've secretly dreamt as high as this.
“I remember watching Michael winning those championships. We always hear just to get 1 or 2 or even 3 is so hard to get – 7 is just so unimaginable.
“I'm a bit lost for words. I think naturally I have to start with saying thank you to the team. The journey we've been on is monumental.
“I want to say also a big thank you to team LH for sticking with me all these years. And to my family who dreamed of this when we were young and watching the grand prix. This is way beyond our dreams.
“It's so important for kids out there to see this and know that don't listen to anybody who tells you you can't achieve something. Dream the impossible and speak it into existence. You've got to work for it, chase it and never give up.”
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Hamilton came from sixth place to win in Istanbul with a remarkable drive on Sunday.
And he warned his rivals that he feels better than ever after his latest championship win.
“There's no end to what me and this team can do together. What a day. A lot to take in.
“I feel like I'm only just getting started. I feel physically in great shape and mentally this year has been the hardest year for millions of people and it's no different for us athletes.”
Hamilton says he has one more race yet to win - fighting to improve human rights across the world.
Hamilton was recently asked his opinion on F1's controversial decision to race in Saudi Arabia next season as part of a record 23-race calendar.
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Instead of dodging the question he admitted he did not know about the accusation that the country was "sporstwashing" it's human rights record and promised to read up about it.
However, in Turkey and without prompting he readdressed the issue saying he was committed to fighting for injustice.
He said: "I realise we've got to face and not ignore the human rights issues in the countries that we go to, not just 20 years, 30 years from now, but now.
"I want to help F1 and Mercedes in that journey, and moving more sustainable as a sport, I want to see if I can be part of that for a little bit longer."
He later wrote on Instagram saying that he would be relentless in his push for diversity.
He added: "This year has been so unpredictable. With the pandemic and obviously the season being pushed back by several months, I had the most downtime I've ever had in my life.
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"It gave me the chance to really think about my ultimate purpose. Seven World Championships means the world to me, I can't even describe how much, but there's still another race we've yet to win.
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"This year I've been driven not just by my desire to win on the track, but a desire to help push our sport, and our world to become more diverse and inclusive.
"I promise you I am not going to stop fighting for change. We have a long way to go but I will continue to push for equality within our sport, and within the greater world we live in."
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