Seeing his Formula 1 idol knighted last week would have made motorsports fan Lewis Hammans deeply proud of our greatest racing driver.
Tragically, he did not live long enough to watch his namesake become Sir Lewis, but he did meet his hero at Silverstone just 16 months before he passed away, aged 20.
Dad Chris says: “That weekend meant the world to us. Lewis never stopped smiling – he had the time of his life.”
It was in July 2018, the day England beat Sweden in the World Cup, and the two Lewises bonded over football at the VIP weekend organised by Make-A-Wish UK, which is supported this year by the Mirror Christmas Appeal.
Chris, 51, says: “My son was awestruck. Lewis Hamilton came in wearing an England shirt and chatted to us.
"All was going well until my son, a born and bred Brighton and Hove Albion fan, found out his hero supported Arsenal.”
Despite being confined to a wheelchair with the genetic disease, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Lewis was mad keen on playing sport as well as watching and was studying for a sports science degree.
Lewis, who died in November 2019, played powerchair football for Brighton and Hove Albion, scoring 170 goals.
Chris says: “He was so competitive and loved all sport.”
The trip to watch the British Grand Prix and meet Mercedes driver Hamilton was an unforgettable experience for Lewis, dad Chris, mum Sue, 50, and sisters, Allie, 24, and twins Sophie and Grace, 17.
They watched the practice and the next day had VIP tickets for the qualifying races.
Make-A-Wish arranged for the family, from Lindfield, West Sussex, to visit the Mercedes motorhome and meet Hamilton, who, in a TV interview later, told the world he had been chatting to another Lewis.
Allie said: “My brother made us record it and he watched it over and over again!”
