Lewis Hamilton shares poignant throwback ahead of Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: ‘This kid would be proud’

Lewis is gearing up for what may be a record-breaking win (Picture: lewishamilton)

Lewis Hamilton is gearing up for this weekend’s defining Abu Dhabi Grand Prix by revisiting his childhood.

The Mercedes driver will go head to head with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in his bid to make history by becoming Formula One’s first eight-time world champion.

The pair are going into Sunday’s race tied on 369.5 points after a year of ebb and flow racing, with Hamilton already with five Abu Dhabi wins to his name, and Mercedes being unbeaten here between 2014 and 2019.

Evidently, the driver is feeling a little wistful about the monumental and potentially record-breaking drive he has ahead of him, as he shared a throwback on social media this week.

Hamilton uploaded a photo of himself as a young boy from his karting days, sitting on his vehicle on the track with a big grin.

He wrote: ‘This kid would be proud.’

Our hearts! (Picture: lewishamilton)

Fans cheered on the driver in the comments, with one branding the kid the ‘young king’ as others insisted he would definitely be proud of where Hamilton has ended up. More than 1.1million people have liked the sweet throwback.

It comes ahead of the showdown on the track this weekend.

Verstappen looked favourite to claim a maiden title until Hamilton won the past three races heading into the finale at Yas Marina.

There have been plenty of incidents throughout the year, with Verstappen and Hamilton colliding on track and Red Bull boss Christian Horner and Mercedes counterpart Toto Wolff verbally sparring off it.

Hamilton will go head to head with Max Verstappen (Picture: Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

Claims and counter-claims about the legitimacy of their rivals’ cars, personal barbs and shunts on the circuit have punctuated what has already been a season to remember.

Hamilton collided with the back of Verstappen’s car in last weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and the latter was hit with a 10-second time penalty for slowing down without due caution, having already been handed a five-second penalty for earlier gaining an advantage by leaving the track.

More: Lewis Hamilton

Verstappen was labelled a ‘crazy guy’ by Hamilton over the team radio as their rivalry ramped up, with Verstappen replying when asked if his opinion of Mercedes and Hamilton had altered over the course of the season: ‘Yes, very much so. And not in a positive way.’

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