Lewis Hamilton started his Brazil week in a classroom, a day before his duties at Interlagos got going. On Wednesday, November 4, the seven-time world champion visited CEAP, a nonprofit technical school in São Paulo’s Pedreira district, with his Mission 44 foundation. He went to hear what stands between local teenagers and a future in STEM.

“Hearing directly from students about the barriers they face, what drives them to keep going, and their hopes and aspirations for the future help us open up pathways into engineering and STEM careers for the next generation in Brazil,” Hamilton wrote on Instagram on Thursday, a day after the visit.

He opened the post with a nod to a country that treats him like one of its own. “Brazil, so happy to be back in a place that means so, so much to me,” the 41-year-old wrote. In 2022, he was made an honorary Brazilian citizen, a gesture that tightened his bond with the country even further.

“Yesterday, I spent time at a school in the Pedreira district with local students, @mission44 and their partner @ceap.pedreira. Days like this remind me of why the work we do at Mission 44 matters so much,” Hamilton added.

“A huge thank you to everyone at CEAP for making us feel so welcome. It was truly inspiring to see first-hand the positive work happening at the school, meet such bright young people, and hear how they’re daring to dream the impossible.”

This wasn’t a first meeting. CEAP was one of three local groups that each brought 20 young people to Interlagos in 2023 for Mission 44’s first event in Brazil. The teens learned about motorsport jobs from Mercedes, Pirelli and a sustainable fuel company, then turned what they heard into demands for change and presented them to Hamilton.

One of them, a 16-year-old named Giovanna, put it plainly: “We need to invest more in today’s youth.” Mission 44 notes that a third of young people in Brazil are out of education, training or work.

Last November, Mission 44 staff went back to listen again. Students spoke about leaving school early because of poverty, crime or violence, weak ties between schools and employers, too few role models and a need for English classes.

CEAP gives young people a safe place to study subjects like IT and robotics, which makes it a natural place to start building an engineering pipeline.

The timing of the visit stands out. Hamilton arrived in Brazil still angry about Mexico City, where he started on pole but lost the lead in a first-lap fight with Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc, and the stewards later gave Leclerc a five-second penalty.

Max Verstappen won the race. Hamilton took back places after the restart and finished second, while Leclerc ended up fourth, and Kimi Antonelli became the youngest world champion in Formula 1 history.

Hamilton didn’t back down at Thursday’s media day. “I’m not going to be silenced. I have not been asked to not say anything,” he said, before adding, “I truly believe that this team can be fighting for the championship next year.” Leclerc missed the day after the birth of his daughter, Bianca.

The foundation’s engineering push reaches beyond São Paulo. Last month, Mission 44 gave fully funded master’s scholarships to 12 aspiring engineers from groups underrepresented in motorsport, through a program the Royal Academy of Engineering runs.

Sunday’s race at Interlagos will be settled in a couple of hours. It could take a decade to find out whether a teenager from Pedreira ends up in an F1 garage with a team badge and a laptop, and by the sound of his post, that’s the result Hamilton is aiming for.

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