When Lewis Hamilton opened up about his struggles at school and how it impacted him

Lewis Hamilton once talked about how his school life affected his winning mindset in his racing career. He recalled how getting teacher complaint reports changed his mental makeup as a child.

Hamilton has shared about his struggles during childhood on several occasions. He has shared the story of facing difficulties in school, and also of the obstacles while moving up in the world of motorsport because of his color.

While speaking on Jay Shetty's podcast in January 2023, Lewis Hamilton recalled how he was terrified of receiving complaint reports from his teachers in school. He added that he was unsure whether teachers knew what each kid's life at home was like, and whether some had an abusive environment which could only get worse with these reports.

"I struggled at school as I said. So the teachers would write these reports that I was not focused or I wasn't doing well. And I remember the fear of that report every year and I try so hard to do well. I don't know if teachers out there realize when they write those reports, what's happening back at home whether you have an abusive household. The stress of that was difficult," Hamilton said at 18:05.

Hamilton then connected that fear of failure and urge to perform to his racing career. He stated that he was always working extremely hard to make his father, Anthony Hamilton, happy. He also joked about the quote 'if you are not first, you are last' and said that he had that mentality.

"I feel in racing, if I would win I could see a smile on my dad's face and it was really like, 'Okay if I do well at this, I know that I'll be accepted.' I go to work double hard, I've got to always be first. I always laugh about the whole, 'If you're not first, you are last'. Whilst I have not been first my whole life, first was everything," he added.

Hamilton recently ended his illustrious run with Mercedes in the 2024 F1 season. It was his last season with the Silver Arrows, after which he plans to join Ferrari for the 2025 F1 season. The announcement of his move was made before the 2024 season itself.

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Former F1 driver praises Lewis Hamilton's decision to jump teams at the right moment amid his Ferrari move

Former F1 driver, Juan Pablo Montoya, recently talked about how Lewis Hamilton has always landed in a better team when he jumped ship in F1.

Speaking to Instant Casino, Montoya talked about Hamilton's move from McLaren to Mercedes in 2013, which was shocking for many. However, it quickly became one of the best decisions the British driver ever made since he dominated the sport with the Brackley-based team.

The ex-F1 driver then addressed his move to Ferrari in 2025 and hinted that it could be a great move considering Hamilton's transfer track record.

“Every time Lewis [Hamilton] jumps ship, he does so to a winning car. It is remarkable. It is great for him and hats off to him. He goes to McLaren and starts winning. He leaves McLaren and everyone wonders why. They go to the back of the grid and Lewis goes to Mercedes and wins all those championships. It is uncanny," Montoya said.

“Ferrari are making such improvements and low and behold here comes Lewis. It is unbelievable. I don’t know how he does it but he always lands in a better place," he added.

Hamilton will replace Carlos Sainz in Ferrari, who will join Williams in 2025.