Lewis Hamilton Reveals “Traumatizing” Childhood Fear That Still “Needs Therapy”

When questions are raised about which F1 driver has the biggest influence across the globe, the conversation ends with only one name. Only A few months ago, the upcoming Hollywood heartthrob, Tom Holland, had only praises for Lewis Hamilton, “I am so unbelievably impressed by his work ethic and his grace,”. But the Spiderman actor might not be so impressed by Lewis Hamilton’s biggest fear.

The Briton’s no stranger to challenging situations, whether it’s the 2016 battle with Nico Rosberg or the 2021 Abu Dhabi fiasco with Max Verstappen. He’s been through it all and comes out either as a victor or as a better man. Even when the 2023 season has gone sideways, Hamilton has wrestled the beast that is the W14 to podiums. However, there’s one battle that’s literally ‘miniature’ which he just can’t seem to shake off!

Lewis Hamilton revisits old demons before the Las Vegas GP

Before we head into the Las Vegas GP, Lewis Hamilton was asked about his biggest woes by Access Hollywood. The interviewer asked, “Not afraid of speed clearly, but what are you afraid of?”. The Mercedes star replied, “Spiders. Man when I was four or five years old, I’d seen all the horror movies because my sisters are 10 years older than me and they’d be babysitting me and would be watching Freddy Krueger movies by the time I was five, jeez, I could never sleep!”

We all know that feeling of staying up late with our elder siblings to watch horror shows that do no good for our sleep, and when Hamilton wasn’t racing RC cars as a kid, he was getting involved with the fear files. He added, “I was traumatized, and I watched Arachnophobia when I was five years old – that thing terrifies me to this day like I need to get therapy bruv. I see that (spiders) and I run!”

You heard that right! It’s not the W14 or the countless formidable rivals he’s faced in his 17-year-long campaign. Hamilton also reflected on his upcoming movie with Brad Pitt, and that challenging F1’s existing norms to pave the way for minorities has been his biggest motivator other than racing. And his racing has had to take a backseat for much of 2023 after the W14 famously struggles to stay consistent, but not all hope is lost.

READ MORE: Despite Toto Wolff Being “Extremely Harsh”, Lewis Hamilton Favored for Las Vegas GP Win

Even after a mediocre season for the Brackley outfit, they are on course to finish second in the constructor’s standings. Lewis Hamilton was also on track to beat Sergio Perez to get second in the driver’s standings, but that plan might have to wait until next year.

‘I’m coming for you’ – Hamilton has his hopes up despite the W14’s flaws

Max Verstappen wrapped up the 2023 title early on with an astonishing gap to the man in second, Sergio Perez. But Lewis Hamilton was right on the Mexican’s toes, unfortunately suffering at the hands of the FIA in Austin. The gap between Hamilton and Perez has opened up to 52 points as we head into the last two races of the season. Speaking on his hopes of beating Perez, the Briton left a light-hearted warning.

“I’m coming for you!”, Hamilton was quoted by Formula1.com, but dialed down the jokes to focus on the reality, “He’s (Sergio Perez) too far away now, to be honest. 30 points in two races. He would have to have two disasters and I would have to be second. But for me, honestly, it doesn’t make a difference if we’re second or third.” The Mercedes driver was critical about the W14 but kept in mind their efforts regardless.

He also added that in an ironic twist of fare, he was at the receiving end of the RB19’s dominance, “I think we’ve still had an amazing year, given the car that we’ve had. We never thought we would be fighting for second in the constructors’ and knocking on the door of the most dominant car, probably, of our era.”

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It’s safe to say that Hamilton and Toto Wolff are hopeful that 2024 will be a different year, with a better car than the W14. However, as Pedro de la Rosa stated, Mercedes shouldn’t count themselves out of a podium at the Las Vegas GP. Stay tuned for more.