The British racing driver Lewis Hamilton is to change his name to incorporate his mother’s original surname – Larbalestier. The seven-time world champion says he intends to incorporate his mother Carmen’s surname, Larbalestier, alongside Hamilton. Hamilton’s father, Anthony, and his mother, Carmen, separated when Lewis was two; he lived with his mother until he was 12 before moving in with his father. Speaking before the new Formula One season, which starts in Bahrain on Sunday, Hamilton, 37, said: “I am really proud of my family’s name. My mum’s name is Larbalestier and I am just about to put that in my name. “I don’t really fully understand the whole idea that when people get married the woman loses her name and I really want my mum’s name to continue on with the Hamilton name.” Asked when he anticipated the change would take place, Hamilton said: “Hopefully soon. We are working on it.” It is unclear if Hamilton intends to hyphenate his surname and in which order the names will be formulated. Hamilton invited his mother to watch him receive his knighthood from Prince Charles at Windsor Castle in December. In an interview published in the Guardian in July, Hamilton described his mother as “so loving”. “My mum was wonderful,” he said. Bullying and racial taunts were a consistent feature of his childhood in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, and said his mother “didn’t fully understand the impact of the things I was experiencing at school”, adding that his father was “quite tough, so I didn’t tell him too much about those experiences”. Hamilton is gearing up for his 16th season in Formula One and bidding to avenge last year’s contentious championship defeat to his Red Bull rival Max Verstappen. But after last week’s final test session, Hamilton said he feared Mercedes was behind Red Bull and Ferrari in the pecking order and that his car would not be quick enough to fight for victories. “Bahrain is going to be tough,” Hamilton said, speaking at Dubai Expo on Monday. “I am really hoping that when I get on the call this evening – with my team at Brackley and Brixworth – they have found some tricks and ways to extract more from this car. “There were a lot of cars that looked fast in testing. Alfa Romeo looked fast, Valtteri [Bottas] looked quick, and obviously the Red Bull looked ridiculously fast – but we are the best team.”