Hamilton talks about his childhood, which took place in a town outside London, in the podcast "On Purpose".

According to the F1 star, he was bullied in various ways by students who were both bigger and stronger than he himself was.

- For me, school was the most traumatized and hardest part of my life so far.

It was a constant occurrence, it was things being thrown at you, like bananas, or people using the "n-word" in a casual way.

It was difficult, says Hamilton.

In junior high school, according to the motorsports star, there were six or seven colored students out of 1,200. Hamilton says that "three of us" sat outside the principal's office the whole time.

Felt the system was against him

Furthermore, Hamilton says that it felt like the system was against him, which resulted in him repressing many things.

- I felt that I could not go home and tell my parents that the children called me the "n-word", or that I was bullied and beaten at school.

I didn't want my dad to think I wasn't strong, he says.

Hamilton, who has seven Formula 1 World Championship titles, is in the final year of his contract with Mercedes.

The Formula 1 season opens in Bahrain on the first weekend of March.

She can become the only woman in Formula 1 in 50 years: "Scary environment":

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Jamie Chadwick on being the only girl in Formula 1: "Scary environment" Photo: TT/SVT Sport