Accustomed to Grand Prix circuits and high-speed paces, Lewis Hamilton struggles to find himself behind the wheel of a city car in the heart of a city with heavy traffic.
The seven-time world champion even finds it far too “stressful”.
During an interview with a Vanity Fair reporter, he found himself driving through busy streets near Nice.
The journalist says that the Mercedes driver was very uncomfortable: “Listen, we are on these roads, anything can happen.
It's stressful for me.
This road is crazy.
There's so much going on here.
I'll turn around in a second.
Lewis Hamilton added: “I find it stressful.
I try not to do things that don't add anything to my life.
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However, from the first time he got into a kart, he knew he wanted to start again very quickly: “It's like having a superpower.
I couldn't be Superman, but it was like your cape.
When I got in the car, I put on a helmet and they didn't see me any different.
You can't see my skin color.
You just see me as a driver.
And I was able to do things that other kids weren't able to do.
The British pilot was born.
“I wondered if I wanted to continue”
Years and titles later, Hamilton seriously considered quitting Formula 1. It was in Abu Dhabi last season, when Max Verstappen won the Grand Prix, benefiting from questionable decisions.
The Mercedes driver recounts how he experienced this episode: “I just remember sitting there in disbelief.
And realizing that I had to unbuckle my seat belts, that I had to get out of there, that I had to climb out of this thing, that I had to find the strength.
I had no strength.
And that was one of the hardest times, I would say, that I've had in a very, very long time.
I wondered if I wanted to continue.
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But the Mercedes driver has recovered, he would even consider an extension with the German car brand.
“I still love driving, I'm still challenged by this sport.
So I don't really feel like I have to give it up anytime soon, ”explains the man who is seeking an eighth world championship title, a record never reached in the history of F1.
