Photo: Adrienne Raquel for Vanity Fair
Just because Lewis Hamilton has made a career out of driving at 200 mph (322 kph) on the race track doesn’t mean that he’s one of those drivers that other drivers are quick to get out of their path. On the contrary, his driving is careful and “achingly sensible” and, if he’s to choose, completely absent.
Not that Hamilton’s style of driving professionally and his driving in everyday life should be similar, but this is still somewhat surprising: in his latest coverstory with Vanity Fair, the F1 champ admits that he isn’t exactly fond of driving. Not in the way us regular folks do it, at the very least.
In between discussing serious topics like racism and particularly the issue of race in the sport, defying expectations, and his career within Formula One, Hamilton also took Chris Heath of Vanity Fair out for a ride on the outskirts of Nice, on the French Riviera. His car for the day was an electric Smart, and there’s the implication that he always drives electric when he does drive himself. His fans probably knew that already since he is a spokesperson for Mercedes=Benz and has been seen in a variety of electric models from the marque.
Then again, Hamilton hardly ever drives himself these days. Hayes notes that his style on the open road is very careful and “achingly sensible,” letting other rushed drivers pass and “never speeding.” That’s because Hamilton is overly cautious because he knows he’s in a situation he can’t fully control.
“I just think I find it stressful. I try not to do things that don’t add to my life,” Hamilton says. “This is now stressful for me. This road is crazy. So much going on here. I’m going to turn around in a second. Look, we’re on these roads, anything can happen.”
Hamilton is aware of the paradox here: on one hand, he races for a living, and he does extreme sports for fun, but can’t find it in himself to overcome the stress of driving himself on a daily basis. “People say: ‘Dude! You drive around at 200 miles an hour!’ And I’m like, in terms of fear factor, that’s easy for me,” Hamilton laughs. “I guess we’re just all wired differently.”
At $285 million in estimated net worth, choosing to not drive himself is not an insurmountable obstacle, as funny as it might seem.
In between discussing serious topics like racism and particularly the issue of race in the sport, defying expectations, and his career within Formula One, Hamilton also took Chris Heath of Vanity Fair out for a ride on the outskirts of Nice, on the French Riviera. His car for the day was an electric Smart, and there’s the implication that he always drives electric when he does drive himself. His fans probably knew that already since he is a spokesperson for Mercedes=Benz and has been seen in a variety of electric models from the marque.
Then again, Hamilton hardly ever drives himself these days. Hayes notes that his style on the open road is very careful and “achingly sensible,” letting other rushed drivers pass and “never speeding.” That’s because Hamilton is overly cautious because he knows he’s in a situation he can’t fully control.
“I just think I find it stressful. I try not to do things that don’t add to my life,” Hamilton says. “This is now stressful for me. This road is crazy. So much going on here. I’m going to turn around in a second. Look, we’re on these roads, anything can happen.”
Hamilton is aware of the paradox here: on one hand, he races for a living, and he does extreme sports for fun, but can’t find it in himself to overcome the stress of driving himself on a daily basis. “People say: ‘Dude! You drive around at 200 miles an hour!’ And I’m like, in terms of fear factor, that’s easy for me,” Hamilton laughs. “I guess we’re just all wired differently.”
At $285 million in estimated net worth, choosing to not drive himself is not an insurmountable obstacle, as funny as it might seem.
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