Formula 1 superstar Lewis Hamilton is opening up on the racism and bullying he faced as a kid ... saying his classmates called him the N-word during "the most traumatizing and most difficult part of my life."
The 7-time world champion made a rare podcast appearance with "On Purpose with Jay Shetty" this week ... where he spoke about the impact his childhood experiences had on his life.
"I was already being bullied at the age of six," Hamilton said. "I think at the time of that particular school, I was probably one of three kids of color and just bigger and stronger bullying kids were throwing me around a lot of the time.