Formula 1 Champ Lewis Hamilton Sends His Race Car to Terminally Ill Five-Year-Old Fan Harry Shaw

From Car and Driver

• On Monday, May 12, the day following the Spanish Grand Prix, race winner and Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton had one of his Mercedes-Benz race cars delivered to the home of U.K. five-year old Harry Shaw, as reported in the British Independent newspaper.

• Harry has Ewing's sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer, and was diagnosed as terminally ill in April.

• Harry's family had sent Hamilton a short video in which the child wishes the racer luck in the race in Barcelona. Hamilton replied in an Instagram post that said in part, "Thank you so much, you are my inspiration today, Harry. I will try to make you proud."

Five-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton wanted to do something special for Harry Shaw, a terminally ill five-year-old boy who Hamilton said inspired him to his win the Spanish Grand Prix on May 12. So Hamilton arranged for his Mercedes-Benz team to deliver one of his race cars to the driveway of Harry's home in Redhill, Surrey, England.

Harry suffers from Ewing's sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer, and his family has been told he is not expected to live beyond the spring. A huge Hamilton fan, he sent his video message from his bed wearing a Mercedes cap with a photo of Hamilton on his pillow.

Hamilton was moved to reply via the Instagram post shown above: "Harry, you don't know how much this message means to me buddy. Thank you so much, you are my inspiration today Harry. I will try to make you proud. You are such a strong boy, I wish I was as strong as you, I wanted the world to see how strong you are and ask everyone to send their best wishes and prayers to you during this hard time. Sending you love Harry. God bless you. Your friend, Lewis."

Starting from second on the grid, Hamilton took the lead by the first corner and dominated the race. The driver brought up the video in his post-race interview as well.

Members of the Mercedes F1 crew left the track immediately after the Sunday event in Barcelona in order to get the race car to Harry the next day. Carried out to the car by his father, Harry asked questions of the crew and got an up-close look at the race car driven by his hero. The team also presented him with a trophy from the race and a pair of Hamilton's driving gloves.

"Just the most overwhelming, wonderful gesture," said his father, James Shaw, in a separate video on the Independent site. "He couldn't believe that Lewis Hamilton's car is sat in our drive. He's had a look at the steering wheel, he's seen the winning trophy, and he gets to have a look around a Formula 1 car-and he loves cars, so this is an amazing experience for him."

The Shaw family has established a JustGiving page in Harry's honor benefiting the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity to further its research into Ewing's sarcoma.

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