S Poddar
Undoubtedly, one of the most successful Formula 1 drivers to date is Lewis Hamilton. Recently, he admitted that fighting mental health issues has always been part of his life. The seven-time world champion indicated that he first experienced depression at a pretty young age. This was due to bullying while he was in school and expectations mounted on him since his racing career.
Being of mixed race and belonging to Stevenage, England, Hamilton was a victim of racism right from the age of five. All this pressure of participating in the motorsport world piled up their deep psychological challenges. He even said that reflection upon his youth as very hard years in life.
Speaking to The Sunday Times, Hamilton said: “When I was in my 20s, I had some really tough phases. I mean, I’ve battled mental health through my life. [I’ve had] depression. From a very early age, when I was, like, 13. I think it was the pressure of the racing and struggling at school. The bullying. I had no one to talk to.”
A precocious karting racist balancing school and the demands of the racing circuit, Hamilton was discovering a new world of motorsport in which he had already begun to excel. The weight of those expectations, combined with harassment he faced from classmates, severely took the toll on his mental well-being. Success on the track aside, Hamilton’s early years were marked by emotional struggles he faced largely alone.
The pressures did not abate as he grew older. When Hamilton began to enter the world of professional racing, he stepped into the high-stakes arena. The pressure of serious competition joined hands with the global eyeliner on Formula 1, meaning Hamilton was subject to massive scrutiny all the time. And yet, despite his genius talent and his will, he bared the burden of personal challenges and professional ones.
This sensitivity of Hamilton in talking about his mental well-being brings an essential point that emotional issues need to be addressed, no matter how hard-snobbed or at the top of their game someone might appear. His story should remind everyone that neither success nor fame nor more awards protects anyone from the daily battles of most individuals within their closed doors.
During the coronavirus epidemic in 2020, Hamilton spent his days in a reflective pursuit of personal growth. In the meantime, he managed to learn some new habits that would be helpful in maintaining mental health during the incident. He would now wake up at wee hours in the morning, meditate, and run out. These were his ways of reconnecting with himself and finding peace amidst the chaos of his career.
“I would find myself fighting hard to calm my mind,” he said. “But it’s a really great way of getting in touch with myself, my inner feelings, understanding what I can do.” His new routine helped him gain a deeper understanding of his emotions and gave him a practical way to manage the mental pressures he faced.
At 39, Hamilton is well into his final racing season and yet remains at the pinnacle of the sport of Formula 1. Picking up two Grand Prix wins in the 2024 season has left him sixth in the driver standings. As the season is drawing to a close, the prospect of a massive change in his career looms over Hamilton. The end of the 12 years will mark his adventure with the Mercedes team, with whom he mostly won world championships, and he is moving to Ferrari, marking the start of his new adventure in the following season. However, his mental health comes first to Hamilton.
When asked if he has ever sought professional help, Hamilton said that he had talked to a therapist once before, but it was not the experience he hoped for. “I spoke to one woman, years ago, but that wasn’t really helpful. I would like to find someone today,” he said. The openness of seeking therapy proves that even seemingly invincible people, like world-class athletes, cannot avoid the tasks at hand regarding mental health.
Hamilton, through the candidness of telling his mental health journey, acknowledges how it’s important to deal with emotional struggles despite achieving so much in life. The story might motivate others to talk about their experiences and seek help when things are not all well mentally, just as it is the case with physical well-being.
In a sport where the competition is greatly rivaled and the atmosphere very stressful, Hamilton’s willingness to talk about his vulnerabilities is a giant leap forward in breaking the stigma surrounding mental health in professional sports. His continuing efforts to maintain some equilibrium between his on-track and off-track lives reflect his need for himself to do well in Formula 1 but also to find equilibrium for his well-being.
