LONDON – Seven-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton battled with depression for years from an early age as he dealt with the pressure of pursuing a career in motor racing and faced bullying at school, the 39-year-old told The Times in an interview.
Hamilton, who has been racing competitively since he was six, said he has also battled with depression as an adult, and has found it difficult to open up about his journey.
“I think it was the pressure of the racing and struggling at school. The bullying. I had no one to talk to,” Hamilton said in the interview published on Saturday.
“I’ve struggled with mental health through my life, depression from a very early age when I was, like, 13… when I was in my twenties I had some really difficult phases.”
Hamilton made his Formula One debut in 2007 when he was 21, becoming the first black driver in the series. He won the championship in 2008 and matched Michael Schumacher’s record of seven championships in 2020.
The Briton said he felt more mature today than he was earlier in his career.
“You’re learning about things that have been passed down to you from your parents, noticing those patterns, how you react to things, how you can change those,” he said.
“So what might have angered me in the past, doesn’t anger me today. I am so much more refined.”
Hamilton said he has tried silent retreats to improve his mental health, and while talking to a therapist years ago did not help, he would like to find one in the future.
The Mercedes driver, who is set to join Ferrari in 2025, is sixth in the championship, with the next race set for Austin in October.
Hamilton said it was “terrifying” breaking the news of his move to Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff.
He said: “It’s been a roller-coaster of emotions from the moment I signed the contract – telling my boss, that was terrifying.
“But it is so exciting because I remember as a kid watching Michael. Every driver watches that car and you’re like: ‘What would it be like to sit in the red cockpit?’”
The Briton said last week that “things are cool with the team”, days after criticising their strategy during the Singapore Grand Prix on Sept 22, when Mercedes asked him to start with soft tyres, when he wanted to use mediums instead.
Mercedes technical director James Allison later acknowledged the mistake, but promised a “substantial” car upgrade by the United States Grand Prix in Texas on Oct 20.
Also needing improvements ahead of the final straight is defending champion and championship leader Max Verstappen, with Red Bull failing to win any of their last eight races.
Instead, he has been embroiled in a row with the sport’s governing body after he was ordered by stewards to do “community work of public interest” with the International Automobile Federation (FIA) after he used a swear word in a press conference ahead of the Singapore GP.
The penalty, which he described as “super silly”, led Verstappen to subsequently giving only short answers or offering “no comment” to reporters.
Now his father Jos Verstappen, himself a former F1 driver, has weighed in, telling website Autosport that FIA’s punishment was “the most ridiculous thing”.
He added: “I don’t think the FIA is doing a very good job.” REUTERS