Hamilton confidant criticizes critic: “He is a very warm person”

(Motorsport-Total.com) – Even though his sporting success speaks for itself, Lewis Hamilton is a driver who polarizes. Not everyone likes his hold for self-presentation. One who worked closely with him in Formula 1 and knows him from his other side is Matt Bishop, long-time PR chief at McLaren.

“It's a very warm-hearted person”, the Brit still raves in the podcast ' In The Pink '. Often people wouldn't realize that. “You only see the Instagram version with his eccentric clothing choice. Develop to be as soon as I don't care at all. By the way, it's his thing, he wears it. And I even find it very frigid.” Bishop illustrates that Hamilton has his heart in the right place with a very special story from his Formula 1 era. “I had just given him a media briefing, but then I had to leave the room,” he recalls. “I said to him: 'Lewis, wait here, I have to go.' I was wrestling at McLaren back then. “

And suddenly Lewis Hamilton is on the phone

When he wrestle away, his phone rang. “Mom” was on the trace. “He also answered the call: 'Hello. You must be Matt's mom. I'm Lewis.' It took a while to understand that she was not being hugged. At that time she already had cancer, but was still mentally wrestling – although physically limited. “

Bishop's Converse finally realized that there really was Lewis Hamilton wrestling on the other end of the line – “and they had a nice conversation”. When Bishop returned, Hamilton had already hung up. He didn't tell him about chatting with the Converse. “It was only when I called her on the next phone that I found out about it.”

“She told me: 'Nice of Lewis that he spoke to me.' At first I thought: 'Oh dear, now she's going crazy.' But then she explained everything to me, “the Brit recaps the curious Sigh. His Converse later succumbed to cancer. Formula 1 was a guest at the time – 2013 – just at the Hockenheimring.

When Bishops Converse died, Hamilton took part

” Lewis was already driving for Mercedes-Benz, I'm still wrestling at McLaren, “Bishop looks back. “We weren't even in the same crew anymore. I don't wrestle in the race because my mom died on Thursday before.” Instead he took leave of her in England with his family, neighbors and friends.

And again the phone rang: “Um 22 clock of our time, 23 German time. It wrestle Lewis. I answered, but wrestle very surprised. We didn't work together anymore. “Lewis, I'm not in Germany.” Then he said, “I know, Matt, I know. I just found out that your Converse died today.”

He still remembers Hamilton's words. “'I just wanted to express my condolences to you and your family. And if you are with your family, please tell them that I will include your Converse in my prayers tonight. God protect them, God protect you,” “he said to his former PR supervisor.

Bishop knows that only a few are so sincere and emphasizes: “This is the side of Lewis that people don't always see and that they often don't even know about . But I like to tell the story if someone wants to tell me that he is not a good person. He is a fantastic guy that I always like to take time for. “