After a long journey totaling 192 podiums, 103 wins, 312 race starts, and 7 championships, Lewis Hamilton has earned his spot as the greatest driver in the sport. A wunderkind in karting, and a maestro in F1, Hamilton has become synonymous with motor racing.
However, it wasn’t always like this for the champion. Before the smell of motor oil and the sounds of a race car going around the track, Hamilton endured the stenches of a pub and the noise of glasses clinking.
Lewis Hamilton and his boozy experience at work
Sitting down with Fox News Australia, Hamilton recalled tougher times before his $285 Million lifestyle. Discussing his life behind the bar, Hamilton revealed once dabbled in bartending as a 17-year-old.
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Now worth millions, the star of the F1 show once waited for his humble check at the end of the day. “I think I was getting £3.50 [$4.31] an hour, something ridiculous like that,” he laughed. “Minimum wage, it was a good experience.”
Albeit ridiculous, in Hamilton’s words, there was one experience worth holding on to. “The best part of it was when I quit on my last day and I cleaned up the bar and I was like, ‘what are these drinks I’ve been giving everyone?’”
The inquisitive young man went on to drink every drink on the rack. “My dad had to come pick me up,” Hamilton chuckled at the boozy experience. “I was, ‘Woof!’”
Hamilton’s hack to staying humble with money
Hamilton’s story has been one that’s been spread far and wide. From living in trailers with his father to owning multiple houses scattered across the globe, Hamilton’s unique talent and unabashed personality threw him into the spotlight very early in his career.
Once dubbed the playboy of F1, the now 38-year-old driver has found peace in the chaos. Humble, Hamilton looked back at his sudden increase in income. “It’s hard not to levitate. You lift off, and you start getting your head into Cloud 9 and it’s hard sometimes, to see the wood from the trees.”
And still, it’s important to stay grounded. Hamilton explained that staying connected to his inner child and his childhood has helped him keep his feet on the ground. Even the pub had its pros.
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“Just having the jobs that I had, working in the pub, working for minimum wage, and getting your check at the end of the week or the end of the month, whatever it is; knowing how much time and energy that you put in and having that balance. I appreciate that, I appreciate what I have.”
Thus, Hamilton is still the child who dreamed of F1. The 10-year-old who dared to stand up to the biggest mogul in the sport and look him in the eye to say, ‘I want to be an F1 champion in your car’, and then accomplish it and then some.
