Playing with risk is nothing new to Lewis Hamilton. The most successful Formula One driver has experienced near-death situations several times on the racetrack. Yet, his determination to reach the highest podium has allowed him to overcome each challenge. That’s why the 39-year-old is still soaring in his favorite sport. However, while Hamilton’s drive has helped him break through barriers time and time again, there have been moments when he felt a chilling effect down his spine. Unbelievable, right? But he admitted to one such experience that occurred while surfing with Kelly Slater.

In May this year, the British racer sat down on the Hot Ones podcast, to share a few unheard things. There, he mentioned his near-death experience while surfing with the legendary American surfer. According to Hamilton, he could have met his death in the infamous Banzai Pipeline in Hawaii in one of his surfing endeavors. How? In the conversation, he went too deep, narrating, “It was like 20-foot waves, and Kelly’s like, there’s no way you’re coming out there. You’re crazy. And as I started to try and paddle in, I got sucked into this…Oh no. The kill zone, basically. So I get sucked in and I turn around and I see this set of like four waves coming. And that for me was like, it’s over. It’s all over.” Meanwhile, the relentless waves made him commit a brave act. 

According to Hamilton, in a life-or-death moment, he abandoned his surfboard and dove straight into the wave, hoping only to survive. His desperate move led him to a reef that he managed to cling to, but by then, the massive waves had already battered him, snapping his board in two. With no immediate help in sight, Hamilton struggled to escape the relentless surf, eventually swimming back to shore despite facing further challenges along the way. Reflecting on the incident, he admitted that Kelly Slater had cautioned him beforehand, though he pressed on regardless. Now, six months later, Slater has made another statement about that harrowing day.

On November 7, Kelly posted an Instagram story, re-sharing a snippet from Lewis Hamilton’s mentioned interview. However, in the caption of the story, Slater wrote, “@lewishamilton the @northshorelifeguardassociation had their eyes on you! All good!!” Notably, the North Shore Lifeguard Association (NSLA) is a dedicated team to continue the ocean safety missions in North Shore, O’ahu. The nonprofit association stands like a rock behind the surfers and the tourists in the oceanic region. According to Slater, the lifeguards of NSLA were there for Hamilton on the fateful day. 

However, the seven-time Formula One champion didn’t mention finding any such hand to save him from the wave demons. Rather, in his interview, Hamilton laid down, “I came back up, obviously gasping for air and the next one was coming so back down, grabbed the reef again as another wave comes over. So I did that three times. I got up, I’d nearly run out of air. I’d nearly drowned, but managed to swim back from there.” Those lines draw a picture of the incident that the British legend went through. But he is not a newcomer to surfing. He holds special expertise in the sport and the credit goes to Kelly Slater. 

Lewis Hamilton has a surfing history with Kelly Slater 

“We are thrill seekers,” Lewis Hamilton said once while describing the innate quality of the racing drivers. Did that quality push the Englishman toward surfing—to seek an extra thrill? Well, driving the F1 cars in each race may cause the drivers to lose body weight between four to eight pounds. Conversely, surfing has demonstrated itself to be a balanced exercise that helps maintain body fat levels. However, did it shed any effect on Lewis to include the sport on his list? Not any conclusive data to support that argument may come. But in Kelly Slater and Kai Lenny, Hamilton once found his perfect surfing mentors. 

In January 2019, the F1 star appeared in Kelly Slater’s Surf Ranch in California. Since then, there has been no looking back. The duo of Slater and Lenny introduced the speedster to the diverse world of surfing. With the days passing by, the liking turned into a love affair. That satisfaction of piercing through the turquoise water touched Hamilton’s soul to a level that made him say a few golden words. In his confession, Hamilton conceded, “Surfing is the best feeling ever. I’m so happy here. I can’t tell you how much I love surfing. When you get up, there’s just no other feeling like it.” And now, it seems that the legend had to pay his price for being in the unwavering love for the sport. Isn’t it? What do you think about this?