At the end of the year, Lewis Hamilton will be departing from Mercedes to join Ferrari.
Despite being a Formula 1 driver who races at 350 km/h, it was a surfing accident and not a racing crash that had Lewis Hamilton thinking “it’s all over”.
Lewis Hamilton has recorded several big crashes during his time in Formula 1, most notably at the 2007 European Grand Prix, 2012 Belgian Grand Prix and more recently at the 2021 Italian race.
Lewis Hamilton: That for me was like: ‘it’s over, it’s all over’
In his debut season in 2007, Hamilton found himself in a challenging situation when he crashed into the barrier at a speed of 280 km/h during qualifying. His right front tyre burst, rendering him helpless and turning him into a mere passenger. As a precautionary measure, Hamilton was swiftly airlifted to the hospital for medical checks.
Several years later, he found himself involved in Romain Grosjean’s crash at the beginning of the Belgian Grand Prix. Hamilton, one of the drivers caught in the chaos, was forcefully propelled nose-first towards his competitors, causing his McLaren’s front end to soar before crashing back down with great impact.
In 2021, while in a fierce battle with Max Verstappen for the World title, Lewis Hamilton experienced one of his three major crashes in Italy. During the incident, both drivers collided, resulting in Max Verstappen’s RB16B landing on Hamilton’s Halo.
Despite being a seven-time World Champion, it was a surfing accident that made the individual contemplate if this would be their final moments.
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Surfing icon Kelly Slater joined Hamilton in his pursuit of catching waves at the Pipeline, a renowned spot considered “one of the most challenging breaks globally” by American Surf Magazine. With multiple take off points and a treacherous reef, Slater cautioned Hamilton about the potential dangers lying ahead.
Despite this, the Briton continued paddling towards the waves, only to encounter a disastrous turn of events.
“On the Hot Ones, he disclosed that his most memorable wipeout occurred while surfing with Kelly Slater at Pipeline.”
“The waves were enormous, about 20ft tall, and Kelly exclaimed, ‘There’s absolutely no way you’re going out there! You must be out of your mind!'”
“I found myself being pulled into the ‘kill zone’ as I attempted to paddle towards the shore.”
As I got pulled in, I suddenly noticed a set of four waves approaching from behind. In that moment, I felt a sense of dread, believing that it was the end, everything was finished.
While tossing my board, I swiftly plunged into the water and seized hold of the reef, just as the roar of a crashing wave echoed in my ears. Unfortunately, my board was forcefully torn away from me, splitting into two pieces.
After resurfacing, I gasped for air, clearly struggling to catch my breath. However, another wave quickly approached, forcing me to descend back down. I urgently clutched onto the reef once again as the next wave crashed over me. I repeated this sequence three times.
“I arose, gasping for breath. I had almost exhausted my supply of air, and I had come close to submerging completely, but I somehow mustered the strength to swim back to safety.”
“But later on, I thought to myself, ‘Wow, these surfers deserve huge recognition.'”
In 2014, the seven-time World Champion discovered his passion for surfing during his initial surf lessons at the Wadi Adventure wave pool in Abu Dhabi. Since then, he has maintained his enthusiasm for the sport and continues to surf avidly.
In the past, he used social media to express: “These waves are incredible, and the best part is there are no sharks! I don’t have to worry about getting bitten!”
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