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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Giles Richards

‘It’s a gamechanger’: Lewis Hamilton’s groundbreaking Mission 44 recruits working in F1

Mission 44 scholar Chris Tagnon sits next to a race car display
Chris Tagnon, a Mission 44 scholar, is now working with the commercial engineering arm of the Aston Martin F1 team, Photograph: Mission 44

Sports people can be more than the sum of their athletic achievements. Lewis Hamilton stands unquestionably as one of the greatest drivers in the history of Formula One having delivered records and outstanding performances that will be hard to surpass. Yet it is indicative of his character that the seven-time world champion rates them all as sitting only alongside what might ultimately be his most significant and long-lasting legacy. His Mission 44 foundation is making an indelible impact on the makeup of motorsport.

“Talent is everywhere, opportunity isn’t and that’s what we’re here to change. Setting up Mission 44 is one of the things I’m most proud of,” Hamilton says, reflecting on the foundation he created five years ago. “I’ve been working in F1 for 20 years and I know first-hand how important it is to have representation in our sport, and how difficult it is for young people to get an opportunity.”

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