14/06/2025 08:10
Lewis Hamilton has reflected on his meeting with UK Prime Minister
Keir Starmer at 10 Downing Street last week - and dropped a big
hint about changes that need to be made. The British driver,
through his Mission 44 foundation, has taken a leading role in
advocating for improvement in the nation's schools, including by
lobbying the government. Following a joint statement, which was
cosigned by 25 organisations in the youth and educational sector,
the seven-time F1 drivers' champion was invited to 10 Downing
Street for a roundtable on enhancing conditions and standards in
schools. When asked about his visit, Hamilton further explained how
it came to pass and some of the key areas of focus. "Yeah, pretty
special day," the Ferrari driver told media including RacingNews365
. "I was fortunate to have a call with the Prime Minister and we
were just discussing the work that is needed within education and
the work that we're doing at Mission 44. "He invited me down. I
said, it's really important that we get young people in the room.
So, we brought some young students, some that are working within
communities that are suffering in terms of kids getting expelled.
So, we had all these kids from different backgrounds come in and
speak directly to the Prime Minister. "We're working on shifting
several policies within education to improve school attendance,
reduce exclusions, because I was one of those kids that was at risk
of that and did get expelled. It's just the beginning of the work I
think we're going to be able to do. "They're obviously very focused
on improving education in the UK. It was a really special day. I
hope it's not the last time through that door, for sure." A playful
joke at 10 Downing Street's expense The government outlined three
broad pledges from the meeting, which was also attended by
Secretary of State for Education Bridget Phillipson. Hamilton,
however, was also eying up further changes that need to be made -
to 10 Downing Street itself. The 40-year-old joked about how the
building could do with some "revamping" given its age and listed
status. "I think it's a Grade 1 building, so it's very old," he
added. "You walk in and you're like, it needs revamping! "But you
can feel the history when you go in there. It's pretty incredible.
There's a staircase in there that has all the images of all the
Prime Ministers going back to the early 1800s. "In the main room at
the back, where we sat around this table – big decisions, like
Winston Churchill would have been sitting there making decisions
back in World War II. You could feel that. It was incredible to be
there."
