Progressing from your Learners to P-plates is a rite of passage most accomplish in their youth, beelining straight from the test to the school grounds where they promise a Maccas Drive-Thru order to any mates that care to tag along. But while it’s one thing to nail your three-point-turn and reverse parallel park under the watchful gaze of a driving instructor, it’s another ballgame entirely to find yourself navigating busy streets and the kind of stacked lanes you find in the city. With arrows pointing every which way and drivers seemingly abiding by their own laws, it’s enough to leave your palms clammy on the wheel as you consider regressing to catching public transport everywhere for the foreseeable future.
As it turns out, these concerns aren’t yours to shoulder alone. Even seven-time champion and Formula 1 icon, Lewis Hamilton, admits to finding driving stressful outside of competition, going on to say that he doesn’t like driving on normal roads. It comes as the star was interviewed by Vanity Fair magazine who asked what he thought about driving in general. “I just think that I find it stressful. I try not to do things that don’t add to my life.”
Fair enough, Lewis Hamilton. Fair enough. Within the interview, he also admitted to considering quitting Formula 1 after the season finale in Abu Dhabi last year after a controversial interpretation of the rules saw Max Verstappen deny Hamilton an eighth championship. “I don’t know if I can really put into words the feeling that I had,” he told the publication.
“I do remember just sitting there in disbelief. And realising I’ve got to undo my belts, I’ve got to get out of there, I’ve got to climb out of this thing, I’ve got to find the strength. I had no strength. And it was one of the toughest moments, I would say, that I’ve had in a long, long time.”
While there have been rumours of late suggesting that Lewis Hamilton might retire after his contract with Mercedes finishes at the end of next year, it appears the 37-year-old is still focused on the sport and driven by the prospect of winning an unrivalled eighth championship. “I’ll be lying if I said that I hadn’t thought about extending,” he said.
“I’m still on the mission, I’m still loving driving, I’m still being challenged by it. So I don’t really feel like I have to give it up anytime soon.”
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Speaking about how the news of four-time champion Sebastian Vettel retiring impacted him, Hamilton explained: “It doesn’t make me think about my future but it is a reminder that I am in that part of my career that people I came up with and have raced for so long will start to stop.” He added, “But I am thinking about how I can improve this car, what steps we need to take to get this team winning again, what is the road map to claiming another world championship and what we need to do to have everyone in this sport more aligned, in terms of diversity.”
