Lewis Hamilton to lead ‘catalyst for change’ discussion in F1’s pre-Miami GP summit

In their attempt to boost their image in the US, F1 will organise an Accelerate Summit event on Thursday ahead of the Miami GP next week, featuring Lewis Hamilton.

As per RaceFans, the event is described as an opportunity for:

“trailblazers from the worlds of sports, entertainment and business to discuss how they can make a significant impact on the future of technology, performance, diversity and sustainability, not only in their own business but across industries and culture."

It will feature Hamilton alongside McLaren CEO Zak Brown and F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali, among others.

After an introductory session with Domenicali and Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei, there will be a six-hour session with Hamilton, called “a fireside chat with Sir Lewis Hamilton” on the theme of “the catalyst for change”. The sport is looking to capitalise on the Mercedes driver's popularity in the US and also use his influence among the fanbase.

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“Valtteri was such a great teammate and colleague" - Lewis Hamilton

The seven-time world champion was full of praise for his former Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas and also spoke about their dynamic during their time together.

On Mercedes' YouTube channel, Lewis Hamilton said:

“Valtteri was just such a great teammate and colleague, and when I talk about a teammate, I think, not enough people really think about it, but there is like a conflict of interest here in our sport. We’ve got two championships. A team championship, which we are hired to do, and a drivers’ championship. So, our job is to score the most points individually or collectively for the team, but ultimately you want to beat your teammate, so there is always this internal rivalry."

He continued:

“There is always this delicate path to walk down, and it’s very easy to be on the wrong side, and you fall out. Valtteri and I never fell out. We always just spoke about things. He was very much just like he’s got to do a better job, or I’ve got to do a better job if one of us beat the other.

"We worked together to try and push the team together. We had amazing years together where he supported me, and I supported him. And we still support each other today, and we travel together to races, quite often, to and from races throughout the year, so that is pretty cool.”

The duo guided the German team to five constructor's championships and help extend their dominance in the sport.