Sir Lewis Hamilton has announced he is changing his name to include his mother's maiden name – Larbalestier.
Seven-time Formula One champion Hamilton, who is preparing for the start of the new season with Mercedes, has said he is changing his name to honour his mother, Carmen.
He said: “I am really proud of my family's name. My mum's name is Larbalestier and I am just about to put that in my name.
“I don't really fully understand the whole idea that when people get married the woman loses her name and I really want my mum's name to continue on with the Hamilton name.”
Hamilton's parents separated when he was two years old and he has, until now, taken the surname of his father, Anthony.
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He is now in the process of changing his name to include his mother's maiden name.
Asked when the change would formally take place, Hamilton added: “Hopefully soon. We are working on it.”
Hamilton is currently preparing for the new Formula One season, which gets underway in Bahrain this weekend.
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The British driver is hoping to regain the world title after narrowly losing out to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in controversial circumstances in the final race of last season.
However, after seeing his car's performance in the final week of testing, Hamilton fears his Mercedes team could be slower than their rivals in the season opener.
“Bahrain is going to be tough,” he added.
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“I am really hoping that when I get on the call this evening - with my team at Brackley and Brixworth - they have found some tricks and ways to extract more from this car.
“There were a lot of cars that looked fast in testing. Alfa Romeo looked fast, Valtteri (Bottas) looked quick, and obviously the Red Bull looked ridiculously fast - but we are the best team."
Topics: Lewis Hamilton, Formula 1
Rory O'Callaghan