‘I was having sleepless nights’: Lewis Hamilton on Formula One, Tommy Hilfiger and his connection to Australia
He is the world’s highest-paid Formula One driver, with a rock star image to match. But Mercedes powerhouse Lewis Hamilton admits he had ‘sleepless nights’ – and it had to do with Australia.
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EXCLUSIVE: He is the world’s highest-paid Formula One driver, with a rock star image – and wardrobe – to match.
Lewis Hamilton might come across as confident, with style and swagger worthy of a Hollywood celebrity. But even he admits to being “nervous” and not just when he’s behind the wheel.
The Mercedes-Benz superstar, 35, is sitting on a couch inside Tommy Hilfiger’s London studio, wearing some serious bling – a diamond nose ring, silver rings and an earring.
Widely regarded as one of the most stylish men in sport (with a playboy reputation and nearly $US500 million in career earnings to match), British-born Hamilton has on a pair of high-top sneakers from his latest collection with Tommy Hilfiger.
Hamilton, a dedicated vegan, points out that they’re faux suede … one of the many sustainability elements in TOMMYXLEWIS, his fourth line with the all-American brand.
In the flesh, Hamilton is softly spoken, with big eyes and lots of tattoos. It’s not hard to see that he is a deep thinker, a trait that’s particularly obvious when he discusses his connection to Australia.
A frequent visitor to our shores, Hamilton becomes visibly emotional when discussing the country’s bushfire crisis, revealing he had “sleepless nights” in the wake of the tragedy, which killed nearly a billion animals.
“When I heard, honestly, I was having sleepless nights,” Hamilton told News Corp in an exclusive interview in London.
“The number (of animals lost) I just can’t compute it. How have we got to this point? I just felt really helpless.”
This led Hamilton, who is a dedicated vegan and environmental activist, to make a $500,000 donation to bushfire relief funds.
“I started to look into the people that are on the ground who are having an impact.”
“Who is going to be the voice of these animals? Seeing it on TV is one thing, seeing it in real life and how it has affected people … is different.”
‘I GET SUPER NERVOUS’
In the fashion world, Hamilton has found a second home where he belongs as much as he does in F1.
“I never thought I’d find something I loved as much as racing,” Hamilton says.
In Hilfiger’s Knightsbridge headquarters, Hamilton is surrounded by racks of the clothes he designed, near a wall covered with polaroids of models styled in their runway outfits.
“I get super nervous, going ‘round to all of the models, making sure the laces are done right, that the fittings are perfect,” Hamilton says, of being backstage at fashion week. “The buzz that I get is similar to a race.”
“There is a life span for an athlete and I won’t be able to do it for my whole life, as much as I love it. I have done it since I was 8.
“Knowing that I have something else that I love just as much is a big psychological boost.”
Hamilton, a six-time F1 world champion and a branding powerhouse, says he still has a lot to learn in fashion, calling himself Hilfiger’s “intern”.
“I was really creative at school but there weren’t a lot of outlets where I could really tap into (that),” Hamilton says.
“I tended to be quite shy … but when I started going to fashion shows, I finally felt like I could be myself in a space of all these different people, from different ethnicities.
“It gave me a lot of confidence to be able to express myself.
“With Tommy, I’m an intern … I want to learn as much as I can.”
Hamilton and Hilfiger have led a push to make their catwalk shows – including the most recent one, at London’s Tate Modern – more diverse in terms of body size, age and ethnicity.
“When you’d go to fashion events, it used to be the slim-est of models … and it wasn’t very diverse.
“I want it to be fully inclusive, breaking down the barriers of age, ethnicity.
“I want to be a part of that solution, I want to be part of that change.”
Supermodel Naomi Campbell opened the show, wearing a gender-free outfit from the latest TOMMYXLEWISXHER “see now, buy now” range. The cast also included Halima Aden – one of three models wearing a hijab – along with Winnie Harlow (on her fourth Hilfiger catwalk), Luka Sabbat, Georgia May Jagger and Alessandra Ambrosio.
For Hamilton, this show is significant – it’s in his hometown of London, featuring his most sustainable collection with Hilfiger to date.
“I said, ‘Let’s dig deep and try and find new (sustainable) vendors’. A lot of research went into it,” Hamilton says.
“I love what Stella (McCartney) does … I don’t think a lot of brands have been following enough in that direction.
“As I did research, I found how much of a big impact the fashion industry was having on the environment,” Hamilton says (he was an executive producer on the Netflix doco, The Game Changers).
“You’d hear about the protests on fur, and I love animals – I’d never wear fur, it’s horrifying. It has affected the environment terribly.
“I want to be part of the change, part of the solution.
“Like for example, this is a plant-based material,” Hamilton says, pointing to the teal-and-white jacket he is wearing from TOMMYXLEWIS.
“All our down is also vegan. There’s no leather, it’s all faux suede.”
Hamilton, who previously dated Nicole Scherzinger of the Pussycat Dolls, is much more guarded about his private life these days.
He is careful with what he shares on social media, where he has 14.5 million Instagram followers and yet, follows nobody.
“I feel there’s so much pressure on people today, how you look,” Hamilton says. “Filters, all these different things.
“I go on social media. There are a lot of athletes that only post about their sport.”
‘FITTEST I HAVE EVER BEEN’
Ahead of the Australian Grand Prix next week – the first race of the 2020 season – Hamilton says he is fitter and more “centred” than ever.
“I feel like the fittest I have ever been,” Hamilton says, of his 5kg weight loss.
“It’s easy to say that every year but the process I have gone through this year, mentally, being the most centred that I have ever been.”
Amid speculation about his future at Mercedes-Benz – and persistent reports that he is being courted by rivals, Ferrari – Hamilton won’t comment directly.
He is thinking about what his life might look like after Formula One.
“I’ve been really conflicted the last couple of years because I’m like, OK, I have just gone vegan, how do I have the most positive impact on the planet?
“Ultimately, the end result is me to stop racing. But at the moment, it gives me the platform.
“I have an idea of where I want to be in five years. You’ve got to have a 5-10 year plan. And it shifts over time. I know it’s going to be hard to get there and the steps I have to take.
“I know how many years I reckon I can really, really give what I am giving now.
“I don’t want to give less. I’m a perfectionist.”
TOMMYXLEWISXHER is available now at Tommy Hilfiger. The Australian Grand Prix is on from March 12-15.