Dylan Bettencourt
Lewis Hamilton is the only Black driver Formula One has ever seen, but Wallace Martins is hoping to change that.
The 18-year-old Brazilian motorsport racer, nicknamed “Hamilton of the favelas,” said he hopes he can follow in the same path as seven-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton.
Martins currently races in the Formula Delta category and was given his nickname because he looks like the British driver and he has a similar driving style.
“He is dedicated to what he does,” said Martins.
“As he wins one race, he’s already thinking about winning the next one.”
He said there’s a lot about Hamilton’s story that is inspiring.
“He comes from a poor background and he is black and the only black driver in Formula 1,” said the teenager.
Hamilton has worked tirelessly in recent years to improve the diversity in Formula One and is vocal about the difficulties Black people face on a daily basis.
Motor racing is known as one of the most expensive sports for competitors without sponsors. At the beginning of his racing career, Martins would race once and then miss the next races while he and his family sold T-shirts to earn enough money for him to race again.
The Covid-19 pandemic made his racing dream even harder to achieve when he had to test cars and work as a mechanic in order to buy food for his family.
“None of it has been easy. It’s got a lot better now, but it’s still not easy,” he told Reuters.
The young racing driver has eight victories and 21 podiums in his 44 career races thus far and he is hoping to be the next Brazilian driver to reach Formula One after Felipe Massa and Ayrton Senna while breaking diversity barriers along the way.
Image source: @LaPresna
