F1 Expert Reveals Lewis Hamilton Has Always Been Quite Apart: “To Protect Himself”

After being in the sport for 17 years, Lewis Hamilton has garnered a huge following and people view him as an F1 icon. While the Briton acknowledges the love and passion of the fans, he often keeps a barrier to protect his inner self. BBC’s F1 journalist Andrew Benson revealed how Hamilton separates his comfort zone away from his on-track persona.

On the Fast and the Curious podcast, Benson stated, “Hamilton, he’s always been quite apart and I think it is a form of protection for him because he has so much adulation, so much celebrity that I think he tries to keep a sort of barrier up, kind of like a comfort zone almost… from everybody, just to protect himself.”

“Hamilton, he’s always been quite apart and i think its a form of protection for him because he has so much adulation so much celebrity that i think he tries to keep a sort of barrier up, kind of like a comfort zone almost…”

“from everybody. just to protect himself.”

“he’s… pic.twitter.com/IPsl2ES8IE

— sim (@sim3744) October 23, 2024

Being the only black F1 driver, Hamilton has suffered immense discrimination in his journey to the top of the sport. Even during his formative years as a child, the Briton faced hardships with racism in his school and during his karting days. This made him suffer through depression, something he only opened up about in recent years.

So, being in his comfort zone may have been a coping mechanism for Hamilton to stay away from the negativity in society. Nevertheless, the seven-time champion has raised his voice via the Black Lives Matter movement and has spoken about mental health issues to push for change.

Still, the Mercedes driver has often kept his feelings to himself whenever it came to discussing his mental health issues. This year, he has confessed about his mental health battles during his childhood in greater detail, for which many praised him.

Hamilton appreciated for discussing his mental health issues

Last month, Hamilton opened up about suffering from depression during his school days in an interview with The Times. The 39-year-old stated how the “bullying” he faced at school coupled with the “pressure of racing”  was a lot to handle and he had no one to open up to.

He said, “I’ve struggled with mental health through my life, depression from a very early age when I was like 13 … when I was in my twenties I had some really difficult phases.”

Many, including Natalie Pinkham and Anthony Davidson, applauded Hamilton for being brave and talking about his mental health battles. Davidson said he felt proud of Hamilton, with whom he competed in their karting days.

The Sky Sports pundit also stated that if he had known about Hamilton’s struggles, he would have supported the future F1 champion during their time together in karting.