Lewis Hamilton Reflected on His Teenage Pre-Race Rituals: ‘A Lucky Conker and Boxer Shorts’

It’s not uncommon for athletes to engage in certain superstitions and rituals before they head out on the field, and more often than not, these are quite quirky. A while back, Lewis Hamilton revealed what kind of rituals and superstitions he used to have when he was much younger.

Speaking to Blackpink singer, Rose — a fellow brand ambassador of RIMOWA — during the preview of the brand’s Mint and Papaya collection, Hamilton explained that up to the age of 17, he used to have a lucky conker [the seed of a horse chestnut tree] and a boxer shorts that he used to carry with himself in the suitcase.

However, he said that later on he lost the conker and his mom turned his lucky boxers pink.

The 39-year-old also opened up about having a few pre-race rituals every single time before getting into the car. “I was superstitious I thought like if I would prepare in a certain way, if I got in the car from one side, if I like put my right sock on first and then left. And it’s like training your mind to think that that was the way that you could get perfect output,” the Briton told Rose.

However, Hamilton explained how one time he missed the sequence of his rituals and then crashed in the race. After this, he realized that it was all just in his head and he eventually stopped doing it.

With the experience he has now and also being a seven-time world champion, Hamilton is much calmer in his approach and revealed that all he does now before getting into the car is listen to some music, which puts him in a good mood.

Songs that put Hamilton in a good mood instantly

The very first question Rose asked Hamitlon was to name a song that puts him in a good mood and the Briton responded by picking Bob Marley as one of the artists whose music does the trick for him.

“I would say you can never go wrong with Bob Marley,” said the Stevenage-born driver. “Like probably ‘Is this love’ maybe? It’s just such a good feeling, but all of his music it’s just like a good feel. What else could you put on like ‘Superstition’.”

The Briton also mentioned that he always puts on some nice music every morning after he wakes up. However, his relationship with music is not limited to just listening to it. He is himself a gifted artist and has a musical alter ego named XNDA which became well-known after appearing in Christina Aguilera’s 2018 single “Pipe”.

He also once admitted that in his downtime he likes to write and record his own music but would not release them to the public.