F1 legend Lewis Hamilton reveals the NASCAR team owner who inspired him growing up

Lewis Hamilton has named 23XI Racing team co-owner Michael Jordan as a figure who inspired him growing up, after the F1 champion delivered a honest interview about his childhood.

Before Jordan was in charge of a NASCAR Cup Series team, he was of course best known for his career with NBA team the Chicago Bulls where he won six championships during his career.

Like Jordan and basketball, Hamilton is one of F1's most successful champions; but he is also a figure that transcends his sport and holds a firm place in celebrity culture.

In 2025, Hamilton will co-chair prestigious fashion event the Met Gala alongside the likes of A$AP Rocky and Pharrell Williams, whose theme this year is named 'Superfine: Tailoring Black Style'.

Hamilton names Michael Jordan as childhood hero

Ahead of the Met Gala, Vogue invited a series of famous faces, including Spike Lee, Ayo Edebiri and Noah Lyles, to take part in a photoshoot celebrating the 2025 theme, with Hamilton also speaking to the fashion magazine about the upcoming event.

Discussing his childhood, Hamilton explained how he was not exposed to fashion during his youth but was inspired by icons of the age such as Jordan.

“When I was growing up outside of London, there were no museums near me, there wasn’t much diversity, and there certainly wasn’t any exposure to fashion,” he said.

“So I lived vicariously through magazines and music videos and films. The people I looked up to—it was Muhammad Ali, it was Michael Jordan, it was Eddie Murphy in Beverly Hills Cop wearing that cool leather jacket. And then a little bit later I started to learn about Cab Calloway, James Baldwin, Nelson Mandela, and André Leon Talley. I saw how their image was so important to them, and how they presented themselves through fashion.

“At the same time, I was trying to understand how I wanted to present myself. As a teenager I didn’t have any money for clothes; my family and I spent it all on racing. So I would wash cars along my street for pocket money and go to the little thrift store in town and get the Tommy Hilfiger pieces that I saw in music videos. They gave me the confidence to show up and say, ‘This is who I am.’”

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