Hamilton to change name to honour his mother

Speaking onstage at the delayed 2020 Dubai Expo event on Monday, Hamilton revealed he is working on changing his name so that his mother’s name lives on as part of his legacy in F1. 

Hamilton’s parents Anthony and Carmen separated when he was two years old. 

“I am really proud of my family’s name, Hamilton,” said Hamilton. 

“I’m actually, none of you might know that my mum’s name is Larbalestier and I am just about to put that in my name.

“Because I don’t fully understand the idea that when people get married the woman loses their name. And my mum, I really want her name to continue on [along] with the Hamilton name.”

Asked whether he would race with his new name at this weekend’s season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, Hamilton replied: “Hopefully soon, I don’t know if it will be this weekend, but we are working on it.”

Hamilton is aiming to bounce back from his controversial title defeat to Max Verstappen last year by winning a record-breaking eighth world championship in 2022. 

The Mercedes driver is currently tied with Michael Schumacher on seven world titles but has more race wins and pole positions than any other driver in the history of F1. 

“Everything,” Hamilton said when asked what winning an eighth world title would mean to him. 

“It’s impossible to know what the future holds and what it would feel like, but of course to do something that no one else has done would feel mind-blowing. 

“I know it would mean so much to all of us that go through all these different emotions though the year, those of you that are on the road with me, whether you are at home or at the race track.”