Amidst Public Guitar Performance on Vacation, Lewis Hamilton Jabs at McLaren Teammate’s Choice That Nearly Made His Head “Explode”

Aug 22, 2024 | 2:27 PM EDT

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Did Lewis Hamilton's jab at his teammate's music taste cross the line or just good fun?

“Def one for the books” – this is how Lewis Hamilton described his summer break as he enjoyed every ounce of his Africa trip. Hamilton had a blast in August from exploring Senegal to driving through the Moroccan desert. Now, he has already reported to his Mercedes duties at Zandvoort. But of course, the Briton is still feeling the blues after having to leave Africa. So, he took to his Instagram page and shared some snaps from the journey to his “motherland“.

In one snippet from Hamilton’s tour to Africa, he was seen playing a guitar at what seemed like a backyard jam session. The Stevenage native is obviously a big music lover, as he has already featured on Christina Aguilera’s song ‘Pipe’. Hamilton has also been rumored to star in pop songstress Camila Cabello’s music video for ‘Dade County Dreaming’. Thus, Lewis Hamilton definitely has an ear for rhythmic notes and recently revealed what kind of music he does not like.

After returning from Africa, Lewis is already neck deep in work for Mercedes. Before starting the second leg of his last season with the Silver Arrows, he went for an interview for the team’s press entourage. There, he recounted when his former McLaren teammate Heikki Kovalainen played heavy metal music. He said, “When I was with Heikki, he was playing like heavy metal stuff. I was like, “Oh my God, my head is going to explode.”

Lewis at a Tommy Hilfiger event in Amsterdam today:
“When I was with Heikki,he was playing like heavy metal stuff. I was like,”Oh my God, my head is going to explode.” 😆#DutchGP 🇳🇱 pic.twitter.com/Q14U5uKgyI
— Sir Lewis Updates (@LH44updates) August 21, 2024

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Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen were teammates for 2 seasons between 2008 and 2009. However, that tenure was not an unpleasant one for the Finnish racer—but why?

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Heikki Kovalainen admitted racing alongside Lewis Hamilton was “hard”

Lewis and Heikki were contemporaries who went on to debut in Formula 1 around the same time. In 2008, Heikki debuted for McLaren while Hamilton attained the Drivers’ Championship trophy for himself. In fact, the British racer stayed on at the papaya army long after Heikki left the team. But Heikki Kovalainen had claimed on several occasions that he had struggled to match Lewis’ speed on the tracks during the two years they raced together.

He said, “I felt both years there it was hard for me. He was just that tiny bit faster all the time and I had to stretch every session.“

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Did Lewis Hamilton's jab at his teammate's music taste cross the line or just good fun?

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Heikki Kovalainen had encountered Lewis Hamilton when the Briton had not yet won seven World Championships. Still, the Finn recognized Lewis’ talent early on.

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He commented, “It was straight from the winter test. I always had to stretch to match him or be ahead of him. An average lap wasn’t good enough. And when you’ve done that for a year and a half, I kind of ran out of energy, and the second half of the second year, 2009 at McLaren, it’s fair to say that I drove below my own ability even.“

Thus, Heikki Kovalainen struggled through his tenure at McLaren while racing alongside Lewis Hamilton. So, who do you think might be the best teammate for Lewis?