F1 News: Lewis Hamilton reveals Niki Lauda pressured Toto Wolff to ban him from fashion parties

Lewis Hamilton

Hamilton reveals F1 legend pressured Wolff to ban him from fashion parties

Lewis Hamilton admits F1 legend pressured Toto Wolff to ban fashion parties.

Sheona Mountford

Monday 8 April 2024 10:57

Lewis Hamilton has revealed that an F1 legend tried to ban him from attending fashion parties.

The British driver is the most successful F1 star of all time with seven world titles and 103 race victories.

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After achieving his first world title in 2008 with McLaren, Hamilton made a shock move to Mercedes in 2013, proceeding to win a staggering six world championships.

Niki Lauda, who joined Mercedes in 2012, played a huge role in getting Hamilton to sign for the team, a friendship developing between the drivers over the years.

Niki Lauda’s ban on Hamilton fashion parties

Hamilton revealed that despite reaching the pinnacle of the sport, he was ‘quite unhappy’.

In a recent interview with GQ Magazine Hamilton explained the escape fashion has provided, and the resistance he faced in the F1 as a result

“I come from a racing world where me and my dad were really the only people of colour,” he said. “And then when I went to the fashion world, it was so mixed, so diverse. I loved it.”

In 2018 at the height of his F1 success, Hamilton was invited to design five collections for brand Tommy Hilfiger.

When he attended a party in New York celebrating his 2018 collection, he encountered opposition from Niki Lauda.

“The narrative was: Oh, he’s not focused. But I wasn’t out partying late or drinking like that. I got to Singapore, and I delivered one of the best laps that I’ve ever delivered,” Hamilton added.

“And after that, everyone was like, Oh, he can do that. Even Niki would say to Toto: ‘You can’t let Lewis do this! This is not what a racing driver does!’

“But eventually I got him to see it: Oh, maybe he can do those things too.”

F1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes McLaren Niki Lauda