Formula 1 is a high-adrenaline sport where drivers regularly clock 200+ Km/h. During the off-season, drivers substitute the thrill of racing around the globe with a chill hobby. But in Lewis Hamilton’s case, it’s different!
Lewis Hamilton is an avid fan of Skydiving. The 7-time World Champion regularly seeks the adventurous sport as a form of “Challenging himself.” As if his profession isn’t dangerous enough!
The Briton regularly takes members of his team and personal staff along with him for skydiving. Even other F1 drivers wait to be added to Hamilton’s guestlist.
Lewis Hamilton is the most accomplished F1 driver in the history of the sport, but he says skydiving is his “ideal way to spend a Sunday.”
He jumped ten times in Dubai today. pic.twitter.com/G1VKLZ7Qsi
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) April 3, 2022
However, Mercedes driver George Russell revealed he hasn’t received an invite from his teammate. And to his surprise, a former Mercedes driver already got a chance to go on the trip with Lewis.
Also Read: Lewis Hamilton Reveals to George Russell His Most Memorable Fan Experience
Nyck De Vries invited himself to Lewis Hamilton’s plans
Lewis Hamilton’s love for skydiving has spread throughout the F1 paddock. Hamilton has invited members of his staff and the Mercedes crew to join him.
His physio Angella Cullen has been featured in some of his Instagram Stories after an adventure leap from over 10,000 feet. However, George Russell revealed that he has been waiting for Hamilton’s invite for a while.
In a recent conversation between the two Lewis asked George if he would skydive. Russell replied, “I’ve been asking you to take me!” To which, Lewis broke the news that Nyck De Vries had joined him for a dive recently.
Lewis went skydiving with his bodyguard and Nyck 😁 pic.twitter.com/B67vvKjfpz
— iesh🍒 (@LEWISHAMIL7ON) November 16, 2022
De Vries joined Lewis and his bodyguard for a dive before the 2022 Brazilian GP weekend. George claimed that he heard, but he remarked didn’t get an invite.
Lewis clarified jokingly, “I didn’t invite him, he just happened to be there!” Russell laughed it off but surely will wait for Lewis’s call in the future.
George Russell does not have permission to skydive
Lewis Hamilton’s next question was if George Russell is allowed to Skydive. And Russell admitted that he isn’t allowed to! And that he doesn’t want to for a while!
Some teams order their driver’s not to do dangerous activities like Skydiving. Especially if a driver is young, talented and tied to a long-term contract with the hopes of being a future World Champion.
Maybe the Kings Lynn native is not fond of heights like Lewis is. But, he could defy his team’s order like how Charles Leclerc did once.
. @Charles_Leclerc said that he went skydiving without asking permission from Ferrari and they were a little upset afterwards but he thought to himself that in case it went wrong, he wouldn’t have been there anyway anymore to be told off 🤣 pic.twitter.com/0blinly3Sh
— tami. (@Vetteleclerc) January 12, 2020
In 2019, Leclerc opted to skydive from 13,000 feet in Dubai after his first season with Ferrari. Ferrari had not given the Monegasue permission to do such an activity.
However, Leclerc famously defied the team’s order. He claims he usually informs the team about such activities and that this was an exception. However, it did not sit well with Ferrari who took some action on the youngster