Lewis Hamilton Speaks On Barcelona Incident, Retirement

During a Facebook Q & A session Thursday, reigning Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton said the full truth of what transpired after this year’s Spanish Grand Prix will remain a secret until after he retires from the sport.

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Speaking during a UBS event that was streamed live on Facebook, Hamilton referred to the first-lap crash that removed both himself and teammate Nico Rosberg from the race as a “massive low,” but that he’s been able to put it behind himself and move on from the event.

Hamilton and Rosberg once again made contact two weeks ago during the final lap of the Austrian Grand Prix. The additional controversy between the duo left team principal Toto Wolff in a heated state, so much so that Mercedes were considering the issuance of team orders heading into Silverstone.

Hamilton said mental adjustments in how he approaches the sport and such incidents have been instrumental in his own perseverance and ability to move past them.

“When I was younger, if I had a bad race, I was so hard on myself, it was a real negative,” he said. “I remember some races, I wouldn’t leave my hotel room for three or four days – not speaking to anyone, not being on my phone. I was just trying to get myself out of this dark place I’d be in.

“Then somehow I’d pop out of it and turn it into a positive. You’ve got to look at the situation, you’ve got to try and find the positives from it and leave the negatives behind.”

The morning after Barcelona, Hamilton said he was focused on what was ahead of him. Now just one point adrift of his teammate in the drivers’ championship, at the time, the deficit was in double digits.

“The next day, I got up and I went for a run, and I’m thinking about lots of different things and it’s crazy to think that the 43-point deficit that I had at the time, which seemed impossible [to close].

“I’m only human, those days I feel like it seems impossible, you’ve just got to keep going as painful as it can be and as hard as it can be. You might get over it quickly, sometimes it takes longer, but you’ve just got to keep going.

Fans of Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton wave to his crew during practice for the United States Grand Prix. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /

“Honestly I feel I’m stronger now. I have those days where it feels like the world’s coming to an end, I’m never going to win this championship, blah, blah, blah. Look where I am now, one point behind in the championship. If I had given up at any point, it shows you to never ever give up, no matter what.”

After his incident at the Red Bull Ring, and what transpired afterward with his team, many speculated if Hamilton and Rosberg could sustain a working relationship at Mercedes. The 31-year-old says he has everything under control, currently.

“In terms of mentally, I love the challenge of the battle with myself,” said Hamilton. “Only I know what’s going on in my head. I just find my way, sometimes it takes longer to dig yourself out of something, it takes longer to understand. I never let anyone interfere with my mental process.”

Hamilton also spoke on his plans to retire from F1 in the early 2020s. He’s sticking by it. His 47 grand prix victories currently rank the Englishman third on F1’s all-time win list, behind that only of Alain Prost and Michael Schumacher.

“Right now I’ve signed for three years including this one with Mercedes, after that I see myself staying for another three years probably – three, four years – then I’m going to stop.

“I don’t have a particular desire to go on forever, when I’m 37 I’d say I’ll still be relatively young. I wanna be challenged by something else. But your views and opinions evolve, so who knows what I’ll be thinking in seven years’ time.

“I want to be as great as I can be, but I don’t want to be defined by someone else’s record.”

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