Dubai: Four Formula One world titles, and still counting. It doesn’t look like Lewis Hamilton is satisfied with just four as he braces up for a fifth crown by the end of this season.
His career as one of the top F1 drivers has to come to an end one fine day, but Hamilton is not unduly worried about this. The realist that he is, Hamilton has it all planned out. He knows what he wants as he looks at life beyond the toughest echelons of sport, should he one day part ways with the Brackley-based Silver Arrows outfit in the future.
“Growing up, I was a little crazy. I was into all sorts of sports but I always wanted to do music. I loved music and thought that one day I would be doing music like the Beatles or The Rolling Stones. As I grew I was heavily influenced by Marvin Gaye, Elvis [Presley] and since my dad was from Granada I loved and grew up on Reggae. There was a time when I was heavily influenced by Hip hop as well. And then, I also loved History and French, but then came the karting and I found that I couldn’t balance all of these things,” the Mercedes ace recalled during a recent visit to the city.
“Even now when I am getting mentally set for a race, I listen to Opera and Jazz. It calms me and gives me a certain focus that I inject into my race and into sport. The more I try out various things, the more I learn and become better,” he adds.
Ultimately, we are all aware that it wasn’t music that took centrestage in Hamilton’s life. The outright winner was motorsport as the British driver went on to win three of his four titles during his five years with the Silver Arrows while putting him alongside the sport’s greats such as Michael Schumacher and Juan Manuel Fangio.
Hamilton will be aiming to win a fifth F1 Drivers’ Championship as the 2018 season kicked off this weekend with the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne. And should he reign supreme again at the end of 2018, the Briton will match Fangio’s title haul, while sitting behind Schumacher’s seven crowns.
What exactly does Hamilton have in mind once he stops? A fancy television career perhaps like former F1 champion David Coulthard? “Sportsmen have this ability to continue in their sport. In F1 for example you have the television experts who decree what is right and wrong about the drivers. I certainly don’t want to talk about someone else racing. I would rather be on the other side trying to encourage other drivers,” he states.
“I will take up other things that I have missed out on during my journey as a F1 driver. I have always been playing catch-up in everything else. The ultimate goal will be to continue building my brand. When I stop I don’t want to feel any sort of remorse that I have not done justice to what was bestowed on me. I should feel proud and excited about the next chapter in my life. I am working on some projects. As of now, I am getting to work with people from different walks of life. I like fashion shows. I get to meet at fashion designers and each time I am with them I try to be a bit of an intern. Kanye West did it. I am happy to start from the bottom. The future is bright,” Hamilton adds.
His parents separated when Hamilton was just two years old. Even though both his parents did everything possible to put the young Hamilton first, the scar remained. “I wanted to be Superman or [Ayrton] Senna. I wanted to do what he was doing. It was a world of pure fascination. The good thing is that my dad never forced me to race. He knew I loved doing it. But in the bargain I sacrificed on a lot of things that I loved. So now it’s time to play catch-up with these. One of them is music and the other is fashion. Today I realise how parents are the backbone of the future for their children,” he shrugged.
Like any other top flight celebrity, Hamilton is also hooked to social media. “Yes, I do use a lot of great things through social media as the basic thought is to ensure it keeps my social life going. For me, that’s the most valuable part of my life. I need to keep in touch with my mum, Snap Chat with her and assure her that I am doing fine,” he said.
“People feel social media is a validation for success. They somehow feel that having more numbers means you are better than the rest. Sadly, they are missing all the other things that are going on. Too much of social media can be a distraction,” he states.
“Honestly, social media for is one way of letting the world know what I am trying to do with my sport. It’s my way of sharing a part of my world and my journey with the rest of the world. Every instance that I post just shows that a boy who came from a Council house in Stevenage was next having lunch with the Queen. That’s all I want to show the world. Social Media is a very difficult tool to use and trying to find the right balance is the most difficult thing for me today,” he shrugged.
“I had the power to dream because of my parents who sacrificed everything for my sake. F1 is probably the most expensive sport to enter. But my dad and my step-mum mortaged the house three times and worked four jobs between themselves to realise a dream. And today I am what I am.”
