Herzogenaurach, Germany – 22 November 2021 — Global sports company PUMA talked with seven-time Formula 1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton, about his vision of greatness in sports and in life, as part of the company’s “Only See Great” campaign. Accompanying the campaign, PUMA designed the special edition race boot Speedcat Pro Spectra for Lewis Hamilton in the emblematic colors of the campaign.
The “Only See Great” campaign spreads messages of hope, optimism and self-belief, following what many consider to be one of the most challenging years in quite some time. The campaign explores the career path of PUMA’s brand ambassadors, as they talk about their own vision of greatness. The idea for the campaign was inspired by cultural icon, entrepreneur and philanthropist Shawn “JAY-Z” Carter who first said: “I only see great. I don’t see good. I don’t see compromise. We should always strive to make something great, something that will last”.
“Greatness is about humanity and helping people. How you connect with people and leave your mark on the planet,” Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 driver Hamilton explains. “Until last year I did not know what my legacy would look like. I thought I had to always be remembered as one the greatest drivers of all time. The Championship is cool but what do you do with all of this? I really hope that when people are looking back in 10 or 20 years my legacy will be a more diverse sport, because I challenge the sport and I challenge the individuals who are in power.”
“Only See Great” explores the very idea of achieving greatness, what it means to struggle to become great and how our perceptions of greatness have expanded over the past year. “Still I rise” is written on Lewis Hamilton’s helmet, a mantra about always picking yourself up and trying again: “The meaning was really like watching my brother – he is disabled – falling down and he always got back up and tried again without complaining. I know that I was stumbling along the way as well. The mantra of “Still I rise” is no matter how often I stumbled, I achieved my final goal,” acknowledges Lewis Hamilton.
The Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 driver wants everybody to know about their abilities:” We all have an unmeasurable amount of power within us to achieve whatever we want to achieve. And it just takes believing in that, even if you feel like you’re crazy because you believe in it so much. That’s what’s going get you across the next hurdle.”
Apart from being one of the most successful Formula 1 drivers, Lewis Hamilton is also a philanthropist who wants to use his positive influence for the better: “If I can connect with one kid, no matter of which gender, background or religion, if I can connect with that one and help him to cross one hurdle and encourage this person to get on the right path and help them through life then my time here is worthwhile.”
PUMA pays homage to Lewis Hamilton’s contribution to the “Only See Great” campaign with the special edition Speedcat Pro Spectra. The boot features the campaign’s emblematic spectral colours.
