"Another "has been" speaking nonsense": Fans react to Lewis Hamilton's mental health struggles being dismissed by former Dutch driver 

F1 fans recently criticized 2-time Indy500 winner Arie Luijendijk for calling out Lewis Hamilton for sharing his mental health issues in an interview with the Sunday Times. The former Dutch driver said that he does not empathize with the seven-time world champion regarding these issues.

As per SportsMole, the 71-year-old Dutch racing driver said that though he understands what Hamilton said, he added that he simply cannot relate to the seven-time world champion in this regard since he never had any mental health issues. According to the report, Luijendijk further mentioned how Max Verstappen was more of an old-school driver who dealt with all the pressure and simply raced hard and fast.

The former Dutch driver added that, in his time, he simply talked to himself to get over the issues he had. He said,

"I think what Hamilton said is fair enough, but I cannot empathise with it. I have never had that problem."

"I'm from a generation where you just deal with it yourself. I've had dips too, but I got over them myself. By talking to myself. In car racing, it always comes down in the end to how good your car is."

When Luijendijk's statements went viral, many F1 fans criticized the two-time Indy500 winner for his response to Lewis Hamilton's mental health struggles. They discussed that the fact the Mercedes star achieved so much in F1 proves that he has dealt with his problems on his own.

Here are some of the comments criticizing Aria Luijendijk's comments:

"Another "has been" speaking nonense. Curiously he is Dutch just like the rest who speak nonesense," one fan wrote.

""Where you just deal with it". If becoming a 7-time world champ while winning the most races and poles and countless other records while dealing with said issues isn't "dealing" with it then we've lost the f**king plot," another criticized.

"Just when you think people can’t get stupider, they do. I understand mental health is not something everyone can understand but to just dismiss it shows a lack of empathy and common sense," one added.

"No surprise. Thankfully times have moved on and we don't just ask people to... 'talk to themselves'. Racing is a part of somebody's life,but we want them to be complete, fulfilled human beings in their life outside racing. Anyway, let's hope people don't pay attention to these limited and shortsighted views," another follower explained.

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Lewis Hamilton shared how he suffered from depression in his formative years

Lewis Hamilton revealed that in his formative years, his mental state was quite unstable. He further disclosed that, despite seeing a therapist years prior, his recovery was unsuccessful.

In an interview with The Sunday Times, Hamilton revealed that, at the age of roughly 13, he had intense pressure to advance both academically and in motorsports, particularly because he was being bullied in both worlds.

The seven-time world champion later added that he also sought professional help through therapy, but it did not resolve anything. He concluded that he would like to take another therapy session now. Lewis Hamilton said,

“When I was in my 20s, I had some really difficult phases. I mean, I’ve struggled with mental health through my life. [I’ve had] depression. From a very early age, when I was, like, 13. I think it was the pressure of the racing and struggling at school. The bullying. I had no one to talk to.”

“I spoke to one woman, years ago, but that wasn’t really helpful. I would like to find someone today.”

In the 2024 F1 season, Lewis Hamilton stands in sixth place with 174 points after the Singapore GP. In this season, he bagged two race victories in the UK and Belgium.