Lewis Hamilton reveals the mental toll it takes to succeed in Formula 1

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton opens up about his struggles with mental health.

They say it’s lonely at the top, but few discuss how isolating it can be to fight your way to the top of your discipline — the sacrifice and pain that accompanies the pursuit of greatness. If anyone in the Formula 1 world is familiar with that experience, it’s seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton.

In a recent interview with The Times, Hamilton revealed the mental health struggles that have plagued him throughout his life, even as he pursued the most intoxicating heights of Formula 1 success.

Lewis Hamilton: “I’ve struggled with mental health through my life”

>Looking at Lewis Hamilton in 2024, you might be inclined to wonder what, exactly, the racer could ever want for. With seven World Championships under his belt, countless Formula 1 records bearing his name, and a promising career move to Ferrari lined up for 2025, it seems like Hamilton has it all.

But mental health concerns like depression don’t discriminate, and in an exceptional profile with The Times, Hamilton elaborates on the pain that has shadowed him his entire life.

“When I was in my twenties I had some really difficult phases. I mean, I’ve struggled with mental health through my life,” Hamilton told writer Gavanndra Hodge. When pressed on what kind of mental health struggles, exactly, he faced, Hamilton elaborated.

“Depression,” he admitted. “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.

“I spoke to one woman, years ago, but that wasn’t really helpful. I would like to find someone today.”

Understanding Lewis Hamilton’s legacy:

 Lewis Hamilton: The new superstar that Formula 1 was looking for

 Ranked: Lewis Hamilton’s 10 best F1 victories over his staggering career (so far)

In the profile, Hamilton gets candid about where that depression may have come from. Being a Black man in motorsport was tough enough. Growing up with divorced parents and competing on a budget made things tougher. And Hamilton admits that he didn’t quite have an appropriate model available to understand how to reckon with his most challenging emotions.

When his racing hero Ayrton Senna was killed in the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, for example, Hamilton recalls that he and his father were working on a go-kart together.

“I remember going to the front and crying, bawling my eyes out,” Hamilton remembered.

“I couldn’t cry in front of my dad, he was not that kind of guy.”

Paired with the racism that he “didn’t understand” and the bullying he faced at both the race track and at school, Hamilton was riddled with emotions that he wasn’t prepared to reckon with.

“I didn’t understand it,” he said of the racism. “[My parents] never explained what was going on. My dad was just, ‘Keep your head down, hold it in, don’t say anything, just beat them on the track, that’s all you can do.’

“You’re learning about things that have been passed down to you from your parents, noticing those patterns, how you react to things, how you can change those.

As he’s grown, Hamilton has changed, telling The Times, “What might have angered me in the past doesn’t anger me today. I am so much more refined.”

Lewis Hamilton has become one of the biggest mental health advocates in Formula 1, using his profile to draw attention to issues of racism, prejudice, and hate, as well as how to effectively combat those issues on both an individual and a greater scale.

His openness over the years has encouraged the likes of Lando Norris, George Russell, Valtteri Bottas, and more to speak up about their own mental health struggles.

Read next: Top 10: The drivers with the highest win percentages in F1 history