LEWIS Hamilton has hit out at the entire Formula 1 industry after yet again having to explain his so-called playboy lifestyle.
The three-time world champion has told the June edition of Men’s Health Australia he feels robbed for being forced to act like the cliched Formula 1 robot without a life outside of the garage — until recently.
In a wide-ranging interview where the 32-year-old also discusses the tricks to his new-look, beefed-up physique, Hamilton dared his sport to find fault with his glamorous lifestyle.
The Mercedes champion said the sport’s irrational expectations on drivers made parts of his first years in Formula 1 “miserable”.
“There is a template that someone invented for a racing driver,” Hamilton said.
“You have to be a square and fit into a box and the shape is ‘boring as f***’.
“Don’t do anything but live and breathe racing. Don’t enjoy, don’t smile.
Lewis Hamilton for Men’s Health Australia, Picture: Damian Bennett for Men’s HealthSource:Supplied
“Now I feel I was robbed of being able to grow naturally… I didn’t get to hang out with my friends, it was always racing, always business, always serious.”
Hamilton came in as the No. 11 highest paid athlete in the world last year, according to the Forbes rich list, with total income of more than $ 42 million.
Since splitting from pop star ex-girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger, Hamilton has been linked with Rita Ora and Rihanna.
He lives in Monaco.
He hangs out with recording artists Pharrell, Jay-Z, Drake and Kanye.
He also confesses he relaxes by going heli-skiing at exclusive Swiss resorts.
Despite this, he is adamant he does not live a playboy lifestyle.
He’s not a playboy.Source:Getty Images
He says he’s just as committed — maybe even more — than every driver on the Formula 1 grid — it’s simply that he enjoys his private time more than any of his rivals.
He also says it’s not an attempt to make up for the lost years of living life in the Formula 1 box.
“I don’t believe I have a playboy life,” he said.
“I’m no less focused than any of my peers. They live a different life. They go home, they are not pictured at events. I train just as much as them, maybe more. But I do this other stuff.
“I have so much energy. I train, I travel, I’m learning about music and fashion, reading a lot. I don’t want to miss anything. I want to experience everything.
“If I can be in the studio with Jay-Z, with Pharrell, am I going to do it? Shit yeah. I like to be around greatness.”
He is simply living his life.
Lewis Hamilton for Men’s Health Australia. Picture: Damian Bennett for Men’s HealthSource:Supplied
A big part of that remains Formula 1 — for now.
“I’m at a happy place in my life and I could easily stop,” he said.
“I’ve accomplished more than I ever dreamed. But I’m hungry for more.”
That hunger explains his new-look physique on show in the June edition of Men’s Health.
To deal with the new-look beefed-up Formula 1 cars this season, Hamilton set-up his off-season training camp in Mexico and endured long days of Muay Thai boxing, sand runs, surfing and pilates.
The one area where he does fit the mould of a Formula 1 robot is the hard work required to be the best.
That doesn’t mean the rest of him will ever be going back into that box.
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