Lewis Hamilton announced the creation of his charitable foundation

Lewis Hamilton was never just a Formula One driver. The seven-time world champion has also always been a great activist, both when he is on the track and when he leaves his helmet in his Mercedes box. His latest initiative was launched a few hours ago and is called Mission 44, a charitable foundation to protect and improve the conditions of minorities in the world of work and school and to which Lewis Hamilton has made an initial donation of twenty million pounds official. The Mercedes team also played a fundamental role in this project and beyond. The Toto Wolf team has always supported the protests and social battles of the British driver. Lewis has never been in hiding and has often made the governing bodies of F1 weigh down - calling the federation "racist" on more than one occasion - that he is the only black driver he fights for every day.

"All young people, regardless of their background, should have the power to dream the impossible. With Mission 44 I will try to make my contribution to a fair and inclusive society in which boys and girls can reach their full potential through access to equal opportunities in education, work and society in general"

Mission 44 - which will primarily focus on education and employment and will include donations, research, collaboration and advocacy - comes at a particular historical moment, especially for England. After the terrible social consequences of the penalties missed by Rashford and Saka, the reactions were comforting but not to the point of putting an end to a fight against racism that seems unsolvable. Seeing great athletes such as Lewis Hamilton, Marcus Rashford, LeBron James or Romelu Lukaku lined up in the front row is the first step towards a change that is more than necessary in 2021.

Mission 44 is not the only reality created or involving Hamilton on sensitive social issues. The new charity foundation will work closely with Ignite, another charity initiative created by Stevenage's Lightning with the backing of Mercedes that aims to help young Britons follow their own path in motorsport and promoting diversity and impact. in this sport, the same objectives that F1 also proves to have on paper with the #WeRaceAsOne campaign.