Formula 1 Driver Lewis Hamilton Always Asks for Hotel Room on a Higher Floor Because of a Deathly Fear
The world of Formula 1 racing wasn’t welcoming to Lewis Hamilton, but the celebrity dominates the competition so thoroughly throughout his career that he’s bent the sport to his will. Even if he weren’t arguably the best driver of all time, Hamilton would still be a pioneer. He’s one of the only Black F1 drivers and one of the few to come from a working-class background.
It takes bravery bordering on delusion to look at all of the institutional barriers that lay in front of a younger Hamilton and think that he can maneuver past them. His supreme self-confidence is also apparent in some of his hobbies when he’s not behind the wheel, but there is still one fear so deep-seated within him that he has to survey every hotel room he ever uses.
Hamilton is an F1 driver for the ages
Hamilton was a prodigious talent behind the wheel. While growing up just outside of London, he became the youngest kid to win the British kart championship at the age of 10 before winning several other titles.
His preternatural gifts quickly translated to Formula 1. After joining McLaren in 2007, Hamilton tied the record for the most wins in a debut season and won his first championship the next year.
His career truly took off after he joined Mercedes as the successor to the legendary Michael Schumacher in 2013. Between 2014 and 2020, Hamilton won six of the seven available championships.
(The only one he didn’t win was in 2016, where he finished second to his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg.) His seven titles put him even with Schumacher for the most all-time, and he holds the records for the most Grand Prix wins (108) and podium finishes (188) ever.
As the sport has increased in popularity, Hamilton (and his dog) has also become a celebrity worthy of tabloid fodder and a valued voice for social causes. His greatness, combined with his efforts to help underrepresented groups carve out their own space, earned him a knighthood in 2021.
Both on and off the track, Hamilton is enabled to accomplish all that he does through his composure and presence of mind regardless of the situation. Driving a car at ludicrous speeds involves a ton of risk and adrenaline, but Hamilton continues to show that he can channel these emotions with the best of them.
He engages in several high-octane activities but is still afflicted by 1 common fear
An August profile of Hamilton in Vanity Fair makes it clear that he approaches very few aspects of his life with fear. He tells the interviewer that he enjoys skydiving, rock climbing, and surfing in his spare time. He is clearly at ease in intense environments, but every person is irrationally scared of something. For Hamilton, that thing is spiders.
He believes the origins of his arachnophobia stem from the time his sister made him watch the film Arachnophobia as a kid. Since then, the fear has metastasized to the extent that even a picture of a spider can send him spiraling. He understands why most people are surprised when they hear this fact;
“People say: “Dude! You drive around at 200 miles an hour! … And I’m like, in terms of fear factor, that’s easy for me. I guess we’re just all wired differently.”
Hamilton’s anxiety about pesky eight-legged freaks compels him to always seek out hotel rooms on the highest floors. When he gets into the room, he checks around every nook and cranny to make sure there are no unwanted visitors lurking. “It’s pathetic, but I do.”
Hamilton has been involved in several scary accidents behind the wheel
Even the best race car drivers get involved in frightening crashes from time to time. One of his worst accidents occurred during his rookie season when his car blew a tire out of nowhere while speeding around the Nurburgring and slammed into the walls.
The 2021 season was dramatic for several reasons, and it also featured a vehicular altercation between Hamilton and eventual winner Max Verstappen at the Italian Grand Prix, according to Sportskeeda. During the Monza race, the drivers refused to yield to each other at the first chicane, leading to Verstappen’s car getting lifted into the air and getting stuck on the halo of Hamilton’s ride.
The 2022 season has not gone as Hamilton planned, mostly coming down to Mercedes’ new car model not performing as expected. But he didn’t help himself when he made a rare mistake during the Austrian GP and lost the back of his car in the final session.
“I’m incredibly disappointed in myself, ultimately. I’m so sorry to the team, everyone worked so hard to put this car together, and I never like to damage it or bring it back damaged,” ESPN reported after the event. He also collided with Fernando Alonso during the first lap of the Belgian GP this year, which led to a brief spat between the two.
Because Hamilton is who he is, none of these incidents put him off the profession or dim his legacy. He’ll be fine as long as no arachnids squirm their way into his eyeliner.
