Lewis Hamilton's mental health issues dismissed as former Dutch driver lauds Max Verstappen

Former Dutch driver Arie Luyendyk has dismissed Lewis Hamilton's admission of needing consultation for mental health issues and lauded Max Verstappen for not needing the help. In a recent interview, the Mercedes driver opened up about how when he was young, he saw a mental health professional but it didn't help him much. The driver also talked about maybe taking a consultation from someone in the future as well.

Hamilton became the first black F1 driver in 2007 and had quite a journey where he made his way through different obstacles that come with being a person of color. The driver has extensively talked about how he was bullied as a child and faced racism when he was growing up.

Hamilton has since grown to become a legend of the sport in a manner that's unprecedented. The level of success is such that he's now the most successful driver in the sport.

With that being said, his comments about looking for mental health advice have not gone down well with Luyendyk. As quoted by Sportsmole, the Dutch driver dismissed the mental health issues as 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."

The Dutch driver also said that he understood why Max Verstappen was not someone who was seeking help, as the driver was just down to earth. He said:

"In car racing, it always comes down in the end to how good your car is. Verstappen is just down to earth. He's Dutch, like me."

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What Lewis Hamilton had said about mental health issues that he'd faced

In an interview with The Times, Lewis Hamilton has opened up about going through depression at a very young age. The driver shared that at 13 years of age, he was diagnosed with depression and even though he had seen someone for it, he didn't find it useful. He said:

"Depression. I think it was the pressure of the racing and struggling at school. The bullying. I had no one to talk to."

Lewis Hamilton is not the only driver to have faced such a thing and sought help. Nico Rosberg was the one who revealed after his retirement that he had sought help during his career.

Former F1 driver Romain Grosjean was also very open about talking to a psychologist during his racing career. In a world where mental health struggles are getting talked about more and more, it is a welcome change to see the most successful driver in the sport's history talking about an issue that was considered taboo at one point.