Black History Month: Young go-karter sent inspiring message by Lewis Hamilton
14 October 2020, 18:06 | Updated: 14 October 2020, 18:33
Lewis Hamilton surprises young karting driver with personal message of support
A 10-year-old go-karter has been inspired after receiving a supportive voicemail from his hero Lewis Hamilton during Black History Month.
Joshua Bugembe has been racing competitively for nearly two years and has taken part in competitions across the country.
He most recently came second in the London Cup on Sunday, making it his third podium in three weeks.
The young racing driver, from Hertfordshire, says he has been really inspired by Lewis Hamilton's commitment to the Black Lives Matter campaign.
Joshua told LBC he's been really influenced by the world F1 champion, who has inspired him to have the confidence to raise questions about racism in school.
This was all before we surprised him with an audio message from the Mercedes driver himself who shared tips and advice with the upcoming driver.
Joshua says Lewis gave him huge encouragement to believe in himself and to know his car well to help drive his success.
In the message, Hamilton said he is "so, so proud" of Joshua and gave him some words of wisdom, including to help his dad work on his kart, as the six-time world champion did when he was younger.
He ends the message by saying he is "sending him positivity" and promises to check in from time to time.
The 10 year old from St Albans told LBC: "I like what he said about having confidence and believing in myself. That's really important for me to get to where he is today".
He has thanked LBC for setting up the opportunity to get a personalised message from his hero.
Joshua says he's now more driven than ever and will take on the advice from Lewis.
