Arriving in Formula 1 only a few years after Lewis Hamilton, Jennie Gow believes the “Sir” he received in 2021 is “well placed” on the activist’s shoulders.

Hamilton joined the Formula 1 grid in 2007 and immediately made an impact, both on the track and with the critics.

From petulant to extraordinary, Jennie Gow heaps praise on Lewis Hamilton

Criticised for his lack of deference in the face of his McLaren team-mate Fernando Alonso’s two World titles to putting out a book after his first season, ‘Lewis Hamilton: My Story’, David Coulthard told the Guardian at the time: “The key to his success will be how he reacts to diversions and difficulties.”

How did he react? He rose.

Adopting the catchphrase “Still I Rise”, Hamilton emerged as a leading Formula 1 driver, winning seven World titles to match Michael Schumacher’s tally but surpassing the German in race wins with 105 and counting.

But it’s his off-track influence that has long-time BBC journalist Gow talking up the Briton as “extraordinary”.

“If we’re talking about the current grid, I suppose that’s the thing about F1 everyone in that paddock has a story to tell, and everyone is inspiring,” she told The Fast and The Curious podcast.

“But you think of Lewis Hamilton and the way that he has turned from a somewhat petulant young man to this activist who is now representing so many different people and standing up for so many different people.

“There’s no doubt that ‘Sir’ is well placed on his shoulders.

“He’s always been extraordinarily kind to me from the very first moment I met him onwards, really.

“I mean, we’ve had our moments where he wouldn’t answer questions, but that’s what you get when you’re a reporter trying to speak to someone just after a really bad race. He’s extraordinary.”

Hamilton founded Mission 44, a non-profit organisation that helps young people from underserved communities find careers in STEM and motorsports while he is also a vocal advocate for social justice, racial justice, and human rights. He’s spoken out against Formula 1’s decision to race in countries that don’t support human rights or LGBTQ communities.

But he’s not the only F1 personality who stands out for Gow, the 47-year-old also applauding former F1 driver Sebastian Vettel who also took up the role of activist in his final years in the sport.

“Sebastian Vettel, another one who has gone beyond the realms of just F1 and is using his status in F1 for greater purpose,” she said.

As for the team bosses, that would be Guenther Steiner and Toto Wolff.

“Guenther Steiner a more recent addition to F1 but he’s set the world on fire and ripped up the rule books, which I love,” she added. “I just love it when someone comes in and goes, ‘You know what? I don’t care’.

“Toto Wolff is another one who just stands head and shoulders above many others. Like he’d be the one who you’d want to be like him.”