“He Had Nothing to Prove”: Tony Stewart Reminisces Witnessing Lewis Hamilton’s Greatness Despite Outshining Him in His Forte

Back in 2011, Tony Stewart and F1 driver Lewis Hamilton swapped cars at the Watkins Glen International circuit. This came about due to both SHR and McLaren (Hamilton’s former team) having a partnership with Mobil1, and as a promotion event, the two drivers were called to swap vehicles. The interaction between the two was effortlessly hilarious, as both drivers took the sarcastic-witty route to humor fans. Although it has been over 13 years since the collaboration, the media never forgets.

At the event, Lewis Hamilton drove Stewart’s No. 14 Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet Impala, while Stewart took the wheel of Hamilton’s McLaren MP4-23. Despite the rainy and challenging track conditions, both drivers enjoyed the experience. This made headlines back in 2011, as such crossovers were much rarer back in those days. Ever since then, both drivers have grown a lot while achieving success in their sports.

In a recent interview with Motor Sport magazine, Tony Stewart was called down and asked about his journey as a racing car driver. When the interviewer got to talking about the car swap with Hamilton, what Stewart revealed was unexpected.

Tony Stewart’s take from the day on track with Lewis Hamilton

Fans will deeply miss Tony Stewart in the Cup Series from 2025 onward. What a persona! From controversies to on-track brawls and even having the most promising drivers, he definitely led an era. During the interview, the questions started about recent events in his life, the Cup Series switch to drivers like Briscoe, and Berry getting some good spots, and it slowly went into the past that made him the driver he is today.

One of the main milestones in his life must have been driving an F1 car during the swap with the former McLaren driver. When Motor Sport magazine asked Tony Stewart about the time he had the car swap, the SHR team owner answered, “They asked me if I’d be interested. I said, Am I interested? Get me in there, I’ve been waiting for this call.”

While the event was held with cameras on both drivers, the main conversations happened off the lens. Explaining his time with the 2024 Silverstone Grand Prix winner, Lewis Hamilton, Stewart said, “To do this with Lewis Hamilton was amazing. He is absolutely an amazing person. His racing record speaks for itself, but to talk to him without media, without cameras, was such a great opportunity.” This could also be Tony Stewart’s way of celebrating the G.OA.T.’s recent victory, which came to him after 900+ days, and letting the world know his connection with the F1 legend. Indeed, what a race for Lewis Hamilton!

After giving a breakdown of how McLaren made the single-seater just to his liking, he spoke about the rain that came as a challenge in the new vehicle and how both of them fared in the swapped cars, saying, “Lewis went five seconds faster than me in my car, and I went eight seconds faster than him in his car… on wet tires.” 

Concluding his answer, Tony Stewart spoke about the 7x world champion in Formula 1, saying, “But, hey, he had nothing to prove, and we laughed about it later. The conditions obviously played a part. It was such a cool day—some of the coolest laps I ever had in my life.” 

The event was a once-in-a-lifetime experience where drivers got to drive a race machine from a different sport. However, this was not the only time that F1 and NASCAR drivers collaborated. Let’s take a look at the other instance where the two worlds collided.

Jeff Gordon and Juan Pablo Montoya also swapped their cars once

In 2003, an exciting event took place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway when NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon and Formula 1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya swapped their racing machines. To show the merging of two different worlds, Gordon drove a Williams FW24 Formula 1 car, and Montoya drove a NASCAR stock car.

The NASCAR stock car weighed 3400 pounds, featured an 8-cylinder engine with a naturally aspirated carburetor, and boasted around 850 horsepower at over 9000 RPM. In contrast, the Williams FW24, equipped with a 3.0-liter V10 engine, produced 900 horsepower at 19000 RPM, showcasing its advanced engineering and lighter carbon fiber suspension.

During the swap, both drivers had to adapt quickly to the new and challenging environments. Montoya had to adjust to the NASCAR stock car’s braking zones, which required braking much earlier than he was accustomed to in an F1 car. Despite his excitement, he found the car tricky to control and even overshot the first corner.

Both drivers completed three warm-up laps and three hot laps, experiencing firsthand the differences in handling and performance. While these incidents sound crazy, would you like to see some more collaborations between the two sports? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.