Lewis Hamilton is the winningest driver in Formula 1 history, and even when he is away from the track, people try to goad him into competing. In an interview with “Hot Ones,” Hamilton confessed he might have gotten himself into a street race or two over the years.
Throughout his F1 career, Hamilton has amassed 103 wins and seven world championships. Those are staggering numbers, and you’d think that would be enough to deter the general public from challenging the Mercedes driver, but that’s not the case.
Hamilton told host Sean Evans there have been people who have seen him at a red light and wanted to race. Hamilton doesn’t indulge them nowadays, but a younger version of himself was more willing.
“Most people are just like, ‘Holy shit!'” Hamilton said. “I’ve had people be at a traffic light and want to race. Definitely when I was young I was like, ‘Alright, I’m gonna smoke this fool.'”
Although Hamilton limits racing to the F1 track these days, he does still have some unique interactions with drivers all over the world. Hamilton, famous for being faster than everyone else in his sport, appreciates a leisurely drive in his down time.
That attitude leads to some angry reactions from other drivers on the highway.
“I’ve had a lot of road rage [directed at me],” Hamilton said. “When I’m just casually driving and not going anywhere for work or anything like that, I’m cruising. Most people are in more of a rush than I am, so I get a lot of road rage. ‘Speed up!’ … I find in America they’re quite aggressive. In L.A., I find them quite aggressive. New York is aggressive. In Switzerland and Germany, they’re crazy.”
Hamilton, who is in his final year with the Mercedes team before jumping to Ferrari next year, is currently eighth in the F1 driver standings with 42 points. He will try to add to that total at the AWS Grand Prix Du Canada on June 9.
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