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Lewis Hamilton talks about his diverse interests outside of Formula 1 and how they help him “grow faster” within the sport.
Lewis Hamilton is known to have many interests outside of Formula 1. Some of those include designing fashion collections with Tommy Hilfiger and Puma, producing The Game Changers documentary with James Cameron and opening a new plant-based burger chain.
While some criticize the Briton for not being focused enough on F1, he believes his active lifestyle actually helps him improve in every way.
“I think it comes down to the fact I love learning and getting to work with different groups of people,” explained the Briton.
“As a kid I was creative, and I think even now tapping into your creativity is such a nourishing and energising experience.
“Ultimately, I’m trying to exceed expectations, but also see what my capabilities are. I think in life a lot of people don’t explore their capabilities to the maximum. That’s just something I’ve always wanted to do.
“I love the challenge of seeing if I can do something. I’ll try absolutely everything – and I’m not good at everything; there’s stuff that I completely suck at, but at least I tried – and I’ve tried to get better at those things. Some things take a lot longer to get better at, and some things just come easier than others.
“As a racing driver, I got into this sport where you almost have to be a square [pauses]… well, you don’t have to be a square, but racing drivers are expected to be a certain shape – this is what a racing driver does, this is what he looks like, this is how he prepares, this is how he behaves.
“I’ve never liked that. I’m different. [Pauses] We’re all different. You know, we’re all different in our own way, but I do it [being a Formula One driver] differently; I go about it differently.
“What’s important for the outside perspective is that you’re not racing all the time, and I’ve really found that doing these other activities outside of the sport has been so stimulating for my mind that it has enabled me to learn and grow faster within Formula 1.”
Hamilton goes on to give a specific example of how his collaboration with Tommy Hilfiger translated into his work within Mercedes.
“In terms of how I’ve navigated and collaborated with my team and Tommy, I’ve learnt from that experience stuff that I can now bring into how I communicate with my engineers. See, you’re constantly challenging and growing your brain.
“Knowledge is power – and in trying to be the greatest driver there is, you need to have the strongest brain possible because the mental side of things is everything.”
The Briton says the act of juggling his diverse interests is definitely not as easy as it might look on the outside.
“My life has been a real whirlwind because I am all over the place; I am juggling a lot of balls, and then I’m arriving at a race and having to deliver, so trying to find the right balance I tell you it’s absolutely not easy. But, jeez, if it was easy then everyone would do it.
“So that’s been a real challenge, but I’ve actually enjoyed trying to find the balance,” concluded the six-time champion.
You can read more of what Lewis had to say in an extensive interview with Square Mile.
