Why Lewis Hamilton "burst into tears" after taking seventh F1 world title

Lewis Hamilton

Why Hamilton "burst into tears" after taking seventh F1 world title

It was a rare show of emotion from the Mercedes driver

Ian Parkes

Monday 16 November 2020 05:08

Lewis Hamilton has revealed to letting his emotions for once get the better of him in the wake of securing his seventh Formula 1 world title.

After Hamilton took the chequered flag at the end of a chaotic Turkish Grand Prix, his voice was filled with emotion as he spoke, and after pulling into parc fermé, his body visibly rocked as he sobbed behind his visor.

After finally composing himself, Hamilton eventually stepped from the cockpit of his Mercedes and for once removed his helmet that allowed people to see his eyes were red from crying.

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Explaining why he broke down on this occasion, the 35-year-old said: "Very rarely do I ever lose control of my emotions.

"I think those last few laps, I remember those last few laps and obviously we’re having a discussion about whether we’re going to pit.

"I was just telling myself 'Keep it together Lewis, you’ve got this’. I could feel it getting closer, knowing that if I finished where I was that I’d got this championship, so all of these emotions were running through me.

"I was trying to stop it because I was thinking about my whole career, from when I was five, when I drove in the go-kart, winning our first British championship, driving home with my dad, singing ‘We are the champions’ and dreaming of being here – it is right there, minutes away and that was a lot to take in.

"When I came across the line, it really hit me and I just burst into tears, that whole in-lap, and then I just couldn’t get out of the car because I just couldn’t believe it."

Recognising the role his entire family has played on his remarkable journey, Hamilton added: "For me, I’ve been very strong, but I couldn’t have done it without the great man behind me, my dad, who, on the days when I didn’t think I was good enough or wasn't going to do well enough, he stood me up and kept me going.

"So I was thinking of him, I was thinking of my mum, I was thinking of my step-mother Linda, my brother, who all stood by me through thick and thin.

"I didn’t want the visor to come up and for people to see tears flowing and all of that stuff because I had always said that I would never let you see me cry.

"I remember watching other drivers in the past crying and I was like ‘I am not going to do that’ but it was too much."

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