It’s no secret that Lewis Hamilton did not grow up in a wealthy household. The 7x world champion’s family had struggled with finances during his early days in karting. Karting was a hobby of the wealthy due to the amount of money required.
Drivers have to buy parts, tyres, fuel and manage their travel which did not come cheap. If you did not have a sponsor or family backing then you certainly had to quit.
The Mercedes driver continued to work some odd jobs to make some extra income. This includes working as a bartender at the age of 17, a gig the F1 driver has some vivid memories of.
Lewis Hamilton reveals getting drunk on the last of his job
Lewis Hamilton claims he does not like going to pubs or bars. Though, the 7x world champion has some memories of working as a bartender in the UK.
He revealed, “I worked in a pub as a bartender when I was 17.” Hamilton claimed he was making about £3.50 ($4.32) an hour, roughly around $4.3. The Mercedes driver did call his job behind the table a good experience but had some fond memory of his last day at work.
Lewis on being a bartender when he was younger and getting drunk on his last day of work there 🤣 pic.twitter.com/kUX8TumxiJ
— Sir Lewis Hamilton Updates (@SirLewisUpdates) April 1, 2023
Hamilton said, “The best part of it was when I quit. On the last day, I cleaned up the bar and asked, “what are these drinks I’ve been giving everyone?”
He added, “So I tried everything. My dad had to come to pick me up because I was absolutely hammered.” Pretty sure Hamilton Sr. had a lot of questions for the youngster.
Hamilton’s dad worked 4 jobs to sustain his son’s karting career
Lewis Hamilton has previously revealed that his father had worked 4 jobs to fuel his racing ambitions. Anthony Hamilton worked as an IT support for the railways. But he also doubled down as a salesperson and dishwasher and took other odd jobs to finance his son’s career.
Hamilton lived in a council estate in Stevenage. He worked as the driver’s manager and technician as he worked on the youngster’s cars and racecraft.
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At a time, Hamilton could not afford tires because all of his father’s credit cards were maxed out. Yet the Briton managed to steer through the difficult times to become the youngest-ever winner of the British cadet kart championship in 1995.
And after his second title win in 1998, Hamilton won the backing of McLaren, with whom he’d make his F1 debut in 2007. Hamilton would become the first black driver on the F1 grid and win 7 world championships to claim the position as the greatest driver in the sport’s history.
