Lewis Hamilton has always been outspoken about mental health and has advocated for the F1 paddock to be more open about the same. Leading by example, Hamilton recently detailed his struggles following his 2021 Championship heartbreak.
In controversial circumstances, Hamilton lost out on his eighth World Title to Max Verstappen on the final lap. And while he wanted to come back the following year and challenge for the crown again, Mercedes entered a slump. With this, he was left languishing in the midfield and his mental health took a major toll.
His win-less streak of 945 days came to an end in Britain two weeks ago, and a relieved Hamilton spoke about the tough times.
“There’s been days where I’ve not been able to get out of bed. There were days where, literally yeah, I didn’t think it would ever happen again and that it might be the end.”
‼️Sir Lewis Hamilton asked, “…have you doubted yourself at any point?” :
“..for sure, for sure…a lot more than i should have but really struggling with mental health along the way…(inaudible)…its been really really tough over this period of time…trying to arrive every day… pic.twitter.com/08dWiJhykR
— sim (@sim3744) July 15, 2024
Hamilton’s revelation provides an insight into how tough life was for him these past two years. On the track, he rarely let it show and continued putting in his best performance for a below-par Mercedes team. In reality, doubts about his ability behind the wheel of an F1 car started to creep in.
Hamilton felt he would never win again
Hamilton has the most number of F1 race wins, pole positions, and fastest laps. Still, when Mercedes’ performance fell, Hamilton felt it was his skill that was hampering his results. Going almost three years without a race win for a driver of his caliber was difficult and the disappointment was immeasurable.
As quoted by ESPN, he said,
“We live in a time where mental health is such a serious issue, and I’m not going to lie, I’ve not been… that I have experienced that. There’s definitely been moments where the thought that this was it, that it was never going to happen again.”
The continued misery at Mercedes is probably what prompted Hamilton to ditch the Brackley-based outfit in favor of a Ferrari move in 2025. However, he ends things on good terms with Mercedes, having broken his winless run in Silverstone two weeks ago.
Considering how well Mercedes has been developing this year, it might not be his last win for the team either.
