Lewis Hamilton almost quit F1 in 2009

By Matt Brogan | March 11th, 2010

Lewis Hamilton has told UK magazine Autocar that he was close to quitting Formula One after being accused of misleading stewards at last year’s Australian Grand Prix.

McLaren’s David Ryan lost his job and the team received a suspended three-race ban when race stewards challenged evidence Ryan and Hamilton gave them after the Briton swapped places with Toyota’s Jarno Trulli under a safety car period.

Hamilton was strongly criticised over the incident and has revealed he came close to turning his back on the sport following the incident.

“I care about how people perceive me,” said Mr Hamilton.

“It was a feeling of, ‘Shoot, maybe I shouldn’t be in the sport,’ rather than not in my team. This is my dream team and I am fortunate to have been here from the beginning [of my career].

“I never had a desire to drive for anyone else. So it was not a desire to leave the team, just to stop racing. For a split second it was, ‘This is too much to take. How do I recover from this?””

Mr Hamilton said it was the support of his family and friends that encouraged him to continue racing in F1.

“For a long period of time, for months, I would walk into a room – and I am sure there are some people who walked into the room and they feel cool – but for me I just didn’t feel positive, it was negative energy and I don’t like that,” said Mr Hamilton.

“But slowly I began to realise that it was not all negative energy and I had a lot of support and respect from people. It made me stronger. It was a real strong experience.”

Hamilton said he believes that although the situation has made him stronger, he wants to avoid ever repeating the scenario.

“I can’t say what will happen in the future but I have always said I love the sport, I love winning and winning in the right way,” he said.

“Integrity is very important to me.”

The Australian round of the 2010 Formula One championship kicks off in Melbourne from March 25 – 28th.

(with Autocar UK)

Robin of Locksley

I consider Hamilton just an average driver he has not proved to anyone that he is a great driver his results speak for themselves.

Why

“His results speak for themselves”. I believe his past result was a drivers world championship. “Average” drivers don’t win world championships no matter how good the car is. He may not be a great driver but he certainly is not average. To make it into F1, you have to be at least very good.

Robin of Locksley

I would like to see Lewis Hamilton drive a full stick shift manual like Larry Perkins did in the good old days and I believe Larry also raced Formula 1 for many seasons. Lewis Hamilton drives on brand new flat tracks whereas Larry would have driven on the equivalent of an uncovered pitch!!

Hayzel

no one really care what you think….

Tony

hamilton has won the drivers championship

if he does nothing else for the rest of his life, that is enough

and i don’t even like him
ABMPSV

..and I almost got a drive in F1.
Valet Dabess

driving cars is a sport… it doesn’t require that much physical activity

Dale

That’s a pretty ignorant view. If you knew how fit they have to be to drive, you’d realise how strong a sport it is. They withstand more G forces than just about any other sport, their heart rate runs at full throttle for long periods of time, and their hand-eye-foot coordination is as precise as you’ll get. What’s more is that they do this in all sorts of weather conditions, from the heat and dust of the desert, to the cold and wetness of Europe.

Blaze

I agree (with Dale). There’s a lot more to race driving than is involved in your daily commute to work. The F1 drivers are expected to drive perfectly in all conditions (take corners perfectly through apexes, make perfectly timed gear shifts and to have perfect throttle & brake control) all while managing and hopefully improving their track position with ~20 other perfect drivers.

The only sport with more G forces (I think) is the Red Bull Air Race, which some have likened to a three-dimensional F1 race.

Back on topic, I like how Hamilton took the allegations seriously. Had he taken it lightly, in my eyes, that would be (and lead to further) bad sportsmanship.

http://bent Millatime

Have a go in a race (not hire) go kart for 10 minutes and then tell me thats not physical!
Marcoz

are you for real…?? go have a look at your standard f1 steering wheel…and see if you can mentally and physically control a car at 300+ kph, all while 4g’s push against your body, front, side, back, and while turning dials an pushing buttons on the steering (all 29) and then come back to us and say not much physical activity is needed….
The Oracle

What a dopey thing to say! The drivers are some of the fittest and strongest athletes around. I once heard Alain Prost say that braking generates such decellaration G force, that it is like trying to hold your head up with a 30kg weight tied to it. The brakes are even more powerful now and can generate over 4G decelleration.

Trump

would the team doctor prescribe him some concrete pills…what a pampered princess
http://caradvice.com.au Arbarth 130tc

That’s looks more like him.
Don’t understand why my previous comment is “Awaiting moderation?”. It was not him in the previous photo.