In his rookie season, Lewis Hamilton returned to the roots of his career and drove a go-kart. However, the then-McLaren man crashed the kart and damaged it. The Brit was tasked to drive the kart for a promotional event in London on a temporary circuit. However, the built-up circuit with the makeshift barricades was put together extremely narrowly.
So, while driving the go-kart which had been bought for over $53,000, the Mercedes man clipped his rear on a turn. His crash on the narrow circuit damaged the rear of the expensive kart. As quoted by Euro Sport, the F1 rookie was apologetic. He said, “Oops, that was close. It’s a bit bent on the back.”
So, despite having years of karting experience and having won the British Kart Championship when he was 10, Hamilton crashed. In his defense, the makeshift track was perhaps too narrow even for the skilled driver. There is no doubt about his skills because the 39-year-old was a master of go-karts in his early days.
After winning the championship at 10, he was signed to the McLaren and Mercedes-Benz Young Driver Support Programme. On the back of that support, he went on to win the European and World Karting championships from 1998 to 2000.
At 15, he became the youngest-ever driver to be ranked number one in the sport before moving to auto racing in single-seaters. With all this experience under his belt, Hamilton still went into the temporary barriers. This highlights the uncertainty in racing as a sport that seldom turns fatal.
Lewis Hamilton highlights the dangers of motorsport even in the go-karting series
Back in 2014, the world of F1 stood still as Jules Bianchi met with a horrific accident during the Japanese GP. The Frenchman later succumbed to the injuries sustained during the crash. This rekindled memories of a similar incident from Hamilton’s karting days. He recalled how he lost one of his fellow karting drivers Daniel Spence in 1994.
As quoted by Euro Sport, he recalled, “When I was nine years old, I saw a young driver die when I was racing in karts. That was a very traumatic time for me as a kid. Even now, I can remember standing on the bank beside a track with him with our suits on just before a race, all laughing and joking. And then the next thing I knew I was at his funeral.”
Another kart had flipped over and landed on top of Spence. The accident resulted in his death at the Kimbolton karting circuit in Cambridgeshire. Hamilton’s narration highlights how the dangers of motorsport are prevalent even during karting which is perceived to be safe.
