Starting from second on the grid at the Spanish Grand Prix this past Sunday, Lewis Hamilton managed to get past his team-mate Valtteri Bottas into turn one and go on to claim a dominant victory. However, Hamilton claims his day didn’t start in the best way possible, but a message from a fan turned his spirt.
After the race, Hamilton said: “When I woke up this morning I was kind of lost how today is going to go.”
“I arrived today and I got this great message from this young kid called Harry and he just became by spirit, my inspiration… I was like Hey! I see you Harry, I got you! I dedicate this win to Harry.”
Harry Shaw, a five-year-old Formula 1 fan from Surrey England is said to lose his battle to a rare bone disease. Harry had sent a message to his favourite driver, Hamilton the morning of the race which inspired the world champion.
After Hamilton had won the Spanish Grand Prix, his Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport decided to extend their gratitude even further. The next morning, Harry woke up to Lewis’ Formula 1 car parked outside his house with a specially recorded video message. Hamilton had also sent his Spanish GP winning trophy along with a pair of his driving gloves. A Mercedes representative also gave Harry, who loves cars, a technical tour of the racing car and Hamilton’s steering wheel.
The day also marked the first time Harry had stepped out of his house due to the acceleration of his illness. Harry is photographed in his father’s arms with his mother Charlotte, next to Lewis’s car in front of his house.
James Shaw, Harry’s father said that the last 24 hours have been crazy for the family from Harry sending the message to Lewis to Lewis’s response on Instagram. He said that he cannot describe how much it means to his family that Lewis won the race for Harry. Harry now considers Lewis Hamilton as his best friend.
He concluded to say that today is about giving Harry a smile, but secondly to raise money for research into children’s cancer to give them a better chance. We are not going to save Harry, but it can help others in the future.
Harry’s fundraiser on Giantpledge has already raised nearly half of set the target of £100,000 currently for The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. Should you chose to donate, you can log onto the website.
