Lewis Hamilton takes inspiration from Martin Luther King

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  • Turning up the heat: Lewis Hamilton gearing up for title-deciding Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

    Lewis Hamilton heads into what he considers to be the most important weekend of his life hoping he serves as an inspiration rather than com­ing across as brash and flashy.

    In the build-up to tomorrow’s title-deciding Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Hamilton has taken to Twit­ter to express his thoughts and feel­ings.

    In one tweet, Hamilton quot­ed the late Martin Luther King, who once said: “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and conven­ience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”

    It could be argued this weekend serves as one of those challenges for Hamilton as he heads into the final race of the year with the Formula One championship on the line, holding a 17-point lead over Mer­cedes team-mate Nico Rosberg.

    In another tweet, Hamilton posted a picture of himself standing in front of his personal private jet, which on its own could have been misinterpreted, but for the line: “Just a kid from the UK that had a dream.”

    Contrast that to boxing’s pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather, and Hamilton has a point.

    The 29-year-old is a kid from a Stevenage council estate whose father Anthony once held down three jobs to ensure his son could fulfil his ambition of reaching F1.

    Now Hamilton stands on the brink of joining a very rare club of multiple champions, should he fin­ish in the top two tomorrow.

    As far as Hamilton is concerned, if he can inspire people along the way with messages of support, all well and good.

    Hamilton said: “I’ve used that (the King quote) several times on Twitter. It’s one of my favourite quotes.

    “You take all these pictures and post them, but you want to find something that’s inspiring to peo­ple.

    “If they’re liking it I want it to be more than ‘Hey, here’s me by a car, here’s me by a mountain’.

    “I want to tell them ‘If I can do it, you can do it’ – help inspire people, really.

    “I am very much aware this is a platform, people turning up with my caps on, with flags.

    “People I meet at the airport or on the street, because they watch me every week­end, are shaking because they are nervous for me, excited for me.

    “I do feel like I’m living the dream for others, which is why I like to share it through the pictures and by saying positive things rather than just waving a bunch of cash around.”

    Asked simply “Like Floyd May­weather?”, Hamilton replied: “Yeah. I’ve no interest in inspiring people like that.”

    Despite the tetchiness involved in a staged shaking of Rosberg’s hand ahead of Thursday’s FIA driv­ers’ press conference, Hamilton insists he is relaxed.

    On Track at the Yas Marina Circuit yesterday, he topped the timesheet at the end of both ses­sions by slender margins from Ros­berg.

    Assessing his state of mind, Ham­ilton said: “I’m in the best place in my whole life.

    “I’m with the best team, I’ve got the best car, I’m in the best shape… I’m excited, man.

    “I’m excited. The last time I went into the championship, the last two times (in 2007 and 2008), I was probably nervous.

    “This is a lot dif­ferent. It’s the biggest moment, the most important weekend of my life. Of course I know that.”

    Rosberg, meanwhile, hopes that the much-improved Williams team can throw him a world champion­ship lifeline.

    The German, who needs to out-score Hamilton by at least 18 points, knows that a victory tomorrow may not be enough.

    Rosberg needs to win and then see Hamilton finish third or worse if he is to take the title.

    “We need to wait and see because the Williams, for example, was actually looking pretty good at some points today,” he said.

    “The car feels good and the pace advantage seems to be there.

    “I need some help from someone else, but (Valtteri) Bottas is looking quick at times so we need to see where he re­ally is.”  

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