F1 News: Lewis Hamilton Pays Emotional Tribute After Girl He's Racing For Passes Away
The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix brought the 2022 F1 season to a close and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton has revealed who he has dedicated his race to in an emotional post.
The Mercedes driver took to his Instagram to share the story. He wrote:
"Devastated to hear about Isla's passing. Meeting this little girl and her family at Silverstone was powerful and moving, she was a fighter and an inspiration to us all. Her memory will be with me always."
After posting some photos, he continued:
"I can't stop thinking about Isla. This beautiful little spirit brought so much love into my life, her hugs and support meant the world to me. I can't believe she's gone and I won't get to hug her again.
"Life is not fair. My deepest condolences to her family, I can't imagine how hard a time this is but please know how many people loved her and especially me."
Hamilton explained ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix earlier this year about how he had met Isla virtually and that he was dedicating his race to her. He said:
“There was a young girl that I spoke to [on Saturday] who was my inspiration. Isla, a five-year-old that is terminally ill and said ‘Will you win the race for me’.
“I said I don’t know if we will win but I will give it everything. So hopefully for me, that was a bit like a win and I would like to dedicate it to her.”
After the Spanish Grand Prix, Hamilton took to his social media to explain further about Isla and how he was looking forward to meeting her in person at Silverstone, which he did. He wrote:
“Today at the track I had to work extra hard to focus. That’s because today I met a beautiful little girl Isla and her parents.
“She’s so full of light, her smile alone brought more happiness than I can put into words. I learned that Isla’s only 5 years old and terminally ill. It’s shattered my heart. Seeing her smile and strength is the greatest gift and I just want to thank Isla and her parents for sharing that with me.
“I cannot wait to see you at Silverstone and give you a hug and thank you in person. I’m going to give everything tomorrow and the rest of this season for you, Isla.”