Formula 1: Lewis Hamilton ‘never heard’ of Triple Crown, won’t pursue it

Five-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton says that he did not hear about the Triple Crown of Motorsport before last year and that he has no plans to pursue it.

Two-time Formula 1 champion Fernando Alonso is set to attempt to become just the second driver to win all three races of the unofficial Triple Crown of Motorsport, which includes Formula 1’s Monaco Grand Prix, IndyCar‘s Indianapolis 500 and the World Endurance Championship’s 24 Hours of Le Mans (or alternatively winning the Formula 1 championship as opposed to the Monaco Grand Prix).

Only Graham Hill has ever pulled off this historic feat. He is a five-time winner of the Monaco Grand Prix (1963, 1964, 1965, 1968 and 1969), and he won the Indy 500 in 1966 as well as the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1972. He is also a two-time Formula 1 champion (1962 and 1968).

The 37-year-old Spaniard, who is a two-time winner of the Monaco Grand Prix (2006 and 2007) and won the 24 Hours of Le Mans last June for the first time driving for Toyota Gazoo Racing, is set to make his second career Indy 500 start this May.

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Alonso, who won his two Formula 1 championships in 2005 and 2006, is set to drive the #66 McLaren Racing Chevrolet in this year’s running of the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” after driving the #29 Honda, which was fielded through a partnership between McLaren and Andretti Autosport, in the 2017 Indy 500.

Five-time Formula 1 champion (2008, 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018) Lewis Hamilton, however, has no plans to try to win all three races of the Triple Crown of Motorsport. Hamilton, who is a two-time winner of the Monaco Grand Prix (2008 and 2016), previously hinted that he may like to compete in the Indy 500 at some point after he retires from Formula 1.

After winning the 2017 Japanese Grand Prix in October, the 34-year-old Briton spoke with 2017 Indy 500 winner Takuma Sato on the podium and admired his Indy 500 ring, which supposedly sparked his interest in competing in the event. Here is what he had to say about the matter, according to WTF1.

"“Wow, you’ve got some bling, where did this come from?! I love that, I need that ring! Can I try this ring? Can I see if it’s worth me doing it one day? It looks pretty good!”"

However, shortly thereafter, Hamilton stated that he has no desire to compete in the Indy 500. Here is what he had to say about the matter, according to NBC Sports.

"“Honestly it hasn’t inspired me to do the Indy 500. I’ve always respected it and appreciated it. I got to watch part of it when Fernando [Alonso] did it which I thought was super exciting. I love the idea of drivers being able to do more than one series.“Just the other day I got to drive an F1 car on an oval circuit which was interesting. I have a huge amount of respect for those drivers as it is quite scary approaching those banks at the speeds that they do. I personally don’t have a desire to drive it. Maybe one day I will go out and have some fun. I have a lot of opportunities to do those kinds of things, but no real plans to do anything serious.”"

In fact, after Alonso qualified in fifth place for the 101st running of the Indy 500 back in May of 2017, Hamilton took a shot at the level of competition in IndyCar as a whole. Here is what he had to say about the matter, according to USA Today.

"“I took a look at the qualifying results. Fernando, in his first qualifying, came fifth. Does that say something about [the level] of IndyCar? Great drivers, if they can’t succeed in Formula One, look for titles in other races, but to see him come fifth against drivers who do this all year round is…interesting.”"

Earlier this week, Hamilton went even further than just discussing the Indy 500 and stated that he has no desire to attempt to win all three races of the Triple Crown of Motorsport, meaning that competing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans is not something that is on his radar, either.

In doing so, he went even further and stated that he had never even heard of the Triple Crown of Motorsport until last year.

Here is what Hamilton had to say about the matter, according to Autoweek.

"“I had never heard about the triple crown until last year. It’s not something that particularly interests me or is something I want to do.”"

Will Lewis Hamilton compete in either one of the two non-Monaco Grand Prix races of the Triple Crown of Motorsport at any point in his career? More than likely, the answer to this question is no, just like it has been for several years, and his recent comments reiterate this.