Seven-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton has opened up about why he chose to bring his mother, Carmen Larbalestier, to the Canadian Grand Prix.
Having spent the best part of two decades travelling around the world with the championship, Hamilton has recently convinced his mother to come to more races with him. For years, his mother was only seen at his home race at Silverstone.
Despite his best efforts to coax her out of her comfort zone last season, various excuses kept her away until the end of last year, when she promised to travel with the 41-year-old to some of his races in 2026.
Speaking to the media ahead of the race weekend, Hamilton discussed why he loves the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve so much, the venue where he secured his maiden F1 win in 2007. In addition to claiming his first victory in Montreal, the Ferrari driver is tied with Michael Schumacher for the most wins at the circuit with seven each.
“It’s one of my favourite places to come in the season,” Hamilton explained. “It’s good to see everybody here. The weather’s fantastic today. I landed this morning and my mum’s coming this weekend, because the atmosphere in the city is electric.
“And then just to come to this little tidy island and have such an iconic weekend, where the fans are probably the closest that they get through the year, and the track is one of the best tracks in the world. So yeah, obviously had some great races here in the past. Excited for this weekend.”
When asked why he chose to bring his mother to the Canadian Grand Prix, Hamilton added: “I’ve been trying to get my mum to come on the road for a while, and she hasn’t wanted to travel the last couple of years. She’s only come to Silverstone for the last God knows how many years.
“And I tried to get her out of her comfort zone last year and bring her to Canada. I wanted to take her to Lake Louise, and so many beautiful places in Canada to visit, and excuses kept coming up.
Carmen Larbalestier
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Formula 1 via Getty Images
“So, she promised me at the end of the year. She said, ‘Next year is the year I’m going to travel with you.’ So, we did China together, which was honestly the best time we’d ever had together. Then she asked me if she could come to Montreal, and I was like, ‘Absolutely.’
“But I think also because it is a really great city to come to. It’s got really good restaurants here. There’s such a buzz in town. And I was like, ‘Do you want to bring a friend?’ And she’s like, ‘No, I just want to come spend time with you.’ So we have just a great time. She’s really my best friend, so I’m really grateful that she’s taken the time to come and be here.
“I think probably the energy, it definitely makes a difference to your weekend when you have support from your family, and the fact that we’re on the road all the time and you don’t always get to see your family, it’s really nice then to have that.
“Also, when she came to China, I got to show her the team. She loved being around the team, she felt really integrated with the team and they made her feel so welcome. And she loved being around Italians, and the food was great. So yeah, I’m really excited for her to be here, and fingers crossed she’ll come to more.”
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