Hamilton: “To be a winner I sacrificed my childhood”

The first seasons in F1 were for Lewis Hamilton more of a nightmare than positive. The three-time world champion himself confided this in an interview in which he admitted that he had suffered a lot from the emotional ups and downs typical of a stressful career like that of a professional driver.

“2007 and 2008 were traumatic for me – his words to the TV3 station – I didn't enjoy it at all. The defeat in the first year was really hard to digest because I was too young, while the title win was incredible. I only knew I had made it after crossing the finish line. Terrible, even though I forced myself to smile – he confided – In reality I just felt emptied and in fact I was incapable of fully appreciating what I had achieved”.

“Perhaps age has made everything more complicated, or perhaps having sacrificed childhood to race karts, thus forging ahead – the story of the 30-year-old fromto Mercedes – I didn't know how to manage the relationship with the media and the negative aspects of our sport at all. Then little by little I matured as a person and created an identity for myself, which allowed me to repeat my success in 2014 with greater tranquility and awareness."

Then expressing a wish for the future, the Stevenage champion concluded: "When I stop racing I would like to create schools to allow needy children to receive a good education and learn to play a musical instrument."

Chiara Rainis