“Wild & Uncontrolled” Lewis Hamilton Almost Endangered His F1 Career for One Picture-Perfect Moment

It’s not every day one crosses paths with Lewis Hamilton, let alone indulge in dangerous sports with the guy. Hamilton has mentioned time and again that he is, in fact, an adrenaline junkie. If being an F1 driver wasn’t enough, Hamilton loves spending his time skydiving, surfing and even snowboarding.

In one such instance in Canada, Hamilton happened to lodge with world-renowned snowboarder Jamie Lynn. In what Lynn called a “random occurrence,” he goes on to narrate a wild story that only speaks to the man Lewis Hamilton truly is.

Jamie Lynn provided a lot of context about his meeting with Hamilton. Showing up with a mutual friend, Lynn explained how he was a casual fan of the sport; not fully fathoming the weight and accomplishments of a 7-time world champion standing before him. Thus, he took him for any other accomplished athlete within his community. “I didn’t really connect him on the levels he had taken his profession to.”

However, snowboarding leveled the playing field. “Everyone kind of checks their career at the door” -the unspoken rule of snowboarding at Baldface. Hamilton, the rookie of the group, didn’t have a board. The crew helped him pick out a board and set up a stance- a weird moment for the pro snowboarder. “Here I am trying to be technical in a setup with for a guy that his technicality and the setup of his F1 race car is probably on the level of astrophysics proportions.”

Lewis Hamilton conquers picture-perfect moment

Hyped, Hamilton faced some of the most beautiful snow the skies of Baldface produce. With a stump jump ahead of him, Lynn showed off his skills and maneuvers, ending it with a backflip. “Lewis saw that and was like ‘holy sh*t. I need to figure that out. I need to learn backflips.” 

Lynn recalled that on every jump after that, Hamilton tried to land a backflip, “mostly unsuccessful.” Looking at Hamilton trying to recreate his stunt made Lynn feel guilty. An injury could potentially ruin Hamilton’s career. “Sh*t I could have just inspired this person to be physically harmed by these attempts and hit where he needs to go after this is way bigger than where I’m ever going to be in snowboarding. So, I can’t be responsible for this.”

However, Hamilton’s relentlessness eased Lynn’s anxiety. Making stupid errors, taking their advice, and then practicing- it’s all in the mindset of a champion. Having tried all day to no avail, the crew went back to the lodge for a couple of drinks. Yet, there was someone missing.

The F1 champ was outside the lodge. He built a kicker himself to work on. Still practicing, Lynn grabbed a beer to go watch Hamilton’s attempts. Then the most picturesque scene unfolds. In his own words: “The light’s setting, it’s like these golden rays of the sun, it’s beautiful; backlit to what he was doing, and here comes Lewis, he drops in, way too much speed, just wild and uncontrolled. But then, he hits the jump, and he locks into this backflip- I can see it right in front of my eyes- he goes upside down…” 

As Hamilton was airborne, making his flip, his anxious observer calculated the multiple ways it could go wrong. But this was Lewis Hamilton. “At the last minute, he just pulls his knees underneath him and stomps his very first backflip.”

Knowing his long list of accomplishments both on and off the track, Lynn could only describe Hamilton’s joy as something beyond all of it. Having connected with a milestone that wasn’t on his radar, to begin with, to then relentlessly pursue it until the end, only goes to show the kind of zeal flowing through his veins.

If anything, the story should be a telling of what is to come in Hamilton’s future. Right now, it’s falling down multiple times. But, as per the three words he carries on his shoulders, Lewis Hamilton will rise.