A stalwart of the Formula One racing scene, Sir Lewis Hamilton is one of the most considerate (and revered) drivers on the circuit – it seems that winning seven world championships, more Grand Prixs than anyone in history and doing it all against a lifetime of socially-fuelled headwind will do that for you.
September 2, via Zoom. From Milan.
ESQUIRE: Hey Lewis, how’s it going? Good to see you again. How’s Italy?
LEWIS HAMILTON: Yeah, all good. It’s always busy on a race weekend, but it is great to be back in Italy as the fans are so passionate about motor racing here.
Due to the racing calendar of Formula One, and all the other commitments that you have, so much of your time is spent travelling. Do you enjoy it or do you see it as more of a necessarily evil?
I have been travelling pretty consistently since I was 13 years old, but I love being on the move. I love experiencing different cultures—there is just always a different energy for every place you go—and I find it fascinating. I get bored of being in the same place for too long.
What are your favourite places to visit?
I love going to Africa. I’ve always been quite an active person when I go to places, so I love how versatile the destinations are there. I’ve only been to six countries in Africa so far, but every time I have been I have had unbelievable experiences. I have really fond memories of visiting Kenya and hiking up to see the gorillas in Rwanda.
You mentioned that you like being active when you travel. How active are we talking?
Well, skydiving is one of my favourite things to do—I think it is the ultimate ‘get out of your comfort zone’ experience. It challenges you to let go of that fear, and overcoming whatever it is that is holding you back. I think the ultimate fear is jumping out of a plane, on your own, and getting to a place where you can overcome the fear and feel at peace. But I have recently started getting into freediving—it is really fun. I haven’t done a lot of it, so it is certainly something I want to do more of—there is just so much tranquility in it. It sounds kind of weird, but I find it quite calming. At first it is pretty nerve-wracking, but once you learn how to calm your mind it can be really peaceful—which is also a very helpful skill to learn as I can apply that to my job.
How are you with packing?
Honestly, I am so sick of packing! I reckon packing is one of the things I hate most in the world. That, traffic and arguing.
Do you over- or under-pack?
Oh, definitely an over-packer. I’m often only in places for a few days at a time, but I always over-pack. Currently I have two big bags, a suitcase with my Playstation in it, and a wheelie bag for carry-on. So that’s four bags for a five-day trip.
Have you always been like that?
There actually was a period of time where I was a light packer—trying to keep things to a minimum, only packing two big suitcases even though I would be away for a two or three months. But now if I’m on a two or three month tour, I will be bringing, like, eight bags!
On a race weekend, you’ve really started to showcase your sense of personal style—in fact, there is a lot of attention given by fans to clothes that you wear on your walks to the pit lane. We assume you need the luggage space for all those looks! But, in all seriousness, how do you go about choosing what you’re going to wear?
It depends. Sometimes it is fun, while other times it can actually be pretty stressful. Some of it is weather-dependent, and dependent on my mood —but because we travel to the race destinations, I try to pre-plan what options I have the week before I travel. I’ll talk a lot with my friend who is a stylist and we’ll discuss brands that I have commitments to or just stuff that I like.
It has become quite a passion for you…
Yeah, absolutely. I’m always sending over images of things that I like, or am inspired by, and we collaborate on those ideas, put looks together and then often try to plan which days to wear which looks. For example, I’ll be thinking is it a Thursday look, or one to wear on race day on Sunday?
One of the brands that you have a long standing relationship with is the luxury watch brand IWC.
It’s been a great relationship that has been going for a long time now. In fact we’ve now developed three watches together.
Full disclosure, we’ve seen the latest one. It’s a Portugieser Tourbillon Retrograde, right?
You have? That’s cool. I have only seen myself a couple of times! It’s being released this month [September].
Well, to clarify we’ve seen embargoed pictures of it! Are you a bit of a pro at designing watches now?
No way, but I certainly know more about it them now. It’s funny because I remember when I first asked them about potentially making a watch, I don’t think they had done a collaboration with an individual before so it was a bit of a leap into the unknown. It was an Ingenieur Chronograph, and people loved it. The next one we did was the Big Pilot, which is probably my favourite watch. I wear it a lot, but its big and chunky and not necessary one that I can wear to a fancy fashion gala, so for the third one I asked if it could be a really classy piece that was next level. I wanted to do platinum case with diamonds on the dial and with a tourbillon movement.
So when you’re doing something that is so removed from your day job—like designing a watch—how do you ensure that the piece represents who you are, and your aesthetic?
The reason I wear the Big Pilot so often is because I love that chunky feel on my wrist, so even though the Portugieser is much more elegant, I wanted it to be big in size and in platinum, which is a heavy material. Also, I wanted it to have diamonds. I love diamonds. Diamonds are not just for women, men can wear them too. My watch had to have diamonds on it.
Away from racing—and watch design!—you are heavily committed to your charity foundation, Mission44. Can you tell us a bit about its purpose?
Sure thing. Ultimately it is set up to help create opportunities for young people from underserved communities and diverse backgrounds. We wanted to offer support to help tackle systemic issues that exist with regards to race and class in terms of career and educational barriers. The goal is to transform the lives of young people who, like me when I was at school, have so many things pushing back at them. I had so many things holding me back. If I didn’t have racing, I would have failed miserably, because the system would have failed me. I am fortunate that I found racing, but not everyone has that luck, so having an education and an understanding what opportunities that can lead to is absolutely essential.
You have been a real pioneer in the sport when it comes to using your profile for a ‘social good’. How difficult was it handling the growing fascination with who you are away from the race track?
I think it has been difficult because a lot of my life has been spent growing up in the spotlight—and I can’t tell you how difficult that is. I can really empathise for those who have had it way worse than me, or people who come into huge levels of fame from a young age, where there is so much attention and judgment on them but not necessarily the coping skills to process or handle it all. When I make a mistake, it’s in the public eye and that can been really difficult to protect yourself from. It is really tempting to retreat back into your shell as a defense mechanism—but eventually you have to build up a really strong mindset and spirit to help you come out of that shell, and stand proud with the confidence of knowing who you are and being proud of what you want to be. I am still learning how to do that every day, and I don’t always get it right, but I’m okay with that.
The last time we spoke you mentioned that growing up you always considered showing vulnerability as a weakness, but as you have grown you now view it as a strength. Is that something you have found useful as a driver and a person?
I don’t think it has been helpful as a driver, but certainly on a personal level. Growing up my dad always told me that crying was a sign of weakness —so I never cried, for like, years. I just held all that pain that I felt inside me. But over time, I have learnt that there is a strength in vulnerability. If you bear your heart, then it enables other people to do the same and that, in return, helps lifts a weight off your shoulders. If you feel like you can show your vulnerabilities without any embarrassment, then it allows you to connect to other people so much deeper. Everyone feels sad, everyone can cry, everyone can love, which is a much more human thing than putting up a hard surface that no one can crack.
Lewis Hamilton is a seven-time Formula One world champion and IWC brand ambassador. Qatar Grand Prix, Oct 6 to 8, Lusail International Circuit, Doha.