Don't diminish the tears
I was emotional. I cried when Lewis won. He’s my favorite driver and this is the last time he’ll race his home circuit with the team that will define his legacy.
Lewis Hamilton is my favorite driver and it’s not close.
I often decline to talk about that fact on TikTok and Instagram out of fear it will color people’s perception of my opinions on other drivers and incidents in the sport. His battle with Max Verstappen in 2021 shredded my nerves weekend after weekend. This winless period has been genuinely gutting at times.
When he took the lead of the race after the final round of pit stops at the British Grand Prix yesterday, I was in pieces.
I turned the volume down and busied myself making some more coffee in the kitchen. I went to see if my partner had woken up yet. They had and they, being far braver than I, said we should watch.
I responded by curling into the fetal position on my side of the bed and gave very specific instructions on when to come get me.
If Lewis had been overtaken;
If Lewis was in the lead on the last lap AND out of DRS of whichever car was in second place.
Naturally, I lasted two minutes before going out to the living room to watch. My heart was in my throat for every turn of the last several laps and as he made the fast right-hander at Stowe and came through the Vale chicane, a couple tears made it out of my eyes.
I don’t like the “must be allergies or dust” jokes. It makes a joke out of emotion (most often from men) and it shouldn’t. Why diminish something so special?
I was emotional. I cried when Lewis won. He’s my favorite driver and this is the last time he’ll race his home circuit with the team that will define his legacy.
If we can’t let that out, if we can’t embrace the tears in our eyes as much as the heart in our throat, I don’t know why we do any of this. The outpouring I’ve seen online in response to Lewis’ win tells me that the vast majority of us are on the right track and I’m glad you’re here to share in it.