Lewis Hamilton Defiantly Hits Back at Ugly Insinuations of Mercedes-Ferrari Switch

When you’re as successful as Lewis Hamilton, you are always under the spotlight. Even the smallest things you do tend to get everybody’s attention. So just imagine what it must be like for Hamilton ever since he decided to leave Mercedes in favor of Ferrari for 2025. This move, which kicked off the 2024 silly season in style, is being called the biggest driver move in the history of Formula 1 by the F1 pundits, and there is some truth to that as well. However, Lewis has faced some criticism too, especially considering the timing of his move, with Mercedes struggling and Ferrari on an upward trajectory.

Before 2022, there wasn’t a single season in Lewis’ career where he didn’t win a race, even when he didn’t have the best car, like the McLaren of 2011. And now he has gone through two consecutive winless seasons and 2024 doesn’t look any better either, worse in fact. So it’s kind of understandable when there are opinions about Lewis leaving the team when it started to become inconvenient for him. But that’s just how a Formula 1 driver is. Remember what Christian Horner said in the first season of Drive To Survive. These drivers have a fighter jet pilot mentality, so you can’t blame Hamilton for wanting to be in a competetive car.

And with Lewis seemingly struggling more than his teammate, George Russell, in the same car, there are some, including Red Bull brand ambassador, David Coulthard who have made some interesting remarks about the 7-time world champion. Speaking to Channel 4, Coulthard remarked, “He’s just not been settled with this car. And you can tell, you know, George is just honing the lap time right now and you can feel that Lewis is on the back foot… It’s looking like his decision to head off to Ferrari, mentally, he is already there.“

But that’s the kind of stuff Lewis is not willing to put up with. In his recent exclusive with GQ Sports, the 39-year-old hit back at his critics who think he is not committed to Mercedes. He said, “For now, though, I’m gonna lift Mercedes as high as I can this year. The way that I exist, I don’t look at it as on the way out. My commitment to the team is exactly the same as in previous years: I want to kill every other team. We want to beat them. My approach remains the same, right till the end. And can’t let too much of my mind be distracted by what’s afterward. You can’t really tap into that until next year.”

For someone who has equaled Michael Schumacher in terms of championships, you’d think he’ll be a happy man. But that would be a naive way to look at his life as he explained in the interview.

Lewis Hamilton admits unhappiness despite his successful career

During his conversation with GQ, Hamilton opened up about the struggles he faced in finding happiness despite his remarkable success in the sport. Despite securing seven world championships, the British driver admitted to feeling deeply unhappy, revealing the toll his relentless focus on racing took on his personal life. Hamilton said that he realized true happiness requires a balance between work and personal pursuits, prompting him to explore interests beyond the racetrack.

via Reuters

“When I first got into Formula 1, it was wake up, train, racing-racing-racing–racing, nothing else. There’s no space for anything else. But what I realized is that just working all the time doesn’t bring you happiness, and you need to find a balance in life. And I found out that I was actually quite unhappy,“ Hamilton confessed. “There was so much missing, there was so much more to me. And it was crazy because I was like: I’m in Formula 1, I reached my dream, and I’m where I always wanted to be, I’m on top, I’m fighting for the championship. But I was just not—it was not enjoyable.“

This is not the first time Lewis has expressed discontentment with his current life. Do you think we might see him hanging up his helmet as soon as 2025?