Tyquendo Tracey, a Jamaican sprinter turned bobsledder, has expressed confidence that Lewis Hamilton would excel if he transitioned from Formula 1 racing to bobsledding in the Winter Olympics. Tracey is currently competing with Jamaica’s four-man bobsleigh team at the Milan-Cortina Games, following his participation as a sprinter in the Tokyo Summer Olympics five years ago. He believes Hamilton’s skills on the racetrack would easily transfer to the icy bobsled course.
Connection Between Hamilton and Jamaican Bobsledding Legacy
Tracey aims to emulate the legendary Jamaican bobsleigh team from the 1988 Winter Olympics, whose story inspired the 1993 Disney film Cool Runnings. This movie is also a personal favorite of Hamilton, whose paternal grandparents hail from Grenada, a Caribbean island. Hamilton has often mentioned how Cool Runnings motivated him during his rise in the motorsport world, especially in breaking into the traditionally white-dominated Formula 1 arena.
Expert Opinion on Hamilton’s Natural Fit for Bobsleigh
Commenting on Hamilton’s possible performance in bobsledding, Tracey told Reuters Television,
“I think he [Hamilton] would do well,”
and added,
“When you see people like Lewis Hamilton going around curves [at] 200-250 miles an hour, he’s going to have the eye for it to be able to manoeuvre a sled … so, personally, I think he would do very well.”
Hamilton’s Own Interest in Winter Olympic Sports
Although Hamilton remains committed to racing for Ferrari this season, he has voiced interest in bobsledding during a recent team video. He said,
“If I was to do a Winter Olympic sport, it would be bobsledding,”
and further explained his hypothetical plans to form a team,
“There’s no Grenadian team, so maybe I would take my best friend Jan and then get a couple of other characters from Grenada and then create a bobsleigh team.”
Potential Impact and Future Prospects
While Hamilton’s current focus is on his Formula 1 career, Tracey’s comments and Hamilton’s own enthusiasm highlight the potential for a multi-sport transition that would capture widespread attention. Should Hamilton ever pursue bobsledding, his athleticism, combined with his Caribbean heritage and inspiration from iconic stories like Cool Runnings, could spark renewed interest in the sport and possibly encourage more athletes from tropical countries to explore Winter Olympic disciplines.
