LEWIS HAMILTON has revealed his daily battle with his own demons.
Still sat in his Champagne-soaked race-suit after being crowned world champion for a sixth time, the Brit superstar offered a rare glimpse into his state of mind.
Lewis Hamilton celebrated his sixth Formula One world title last weekend
Usually fiercely guarded over his own weaknesses, Hamilton bared his soul in a moment of self-reflection as the magnitude of his latest triumph started to sink in.
Hamilton, 34, said: “Every year you go through a different roller-coaster ride of emotions to get to where you’re going.
“Every single one of us is struggling with something in life. Whatever it may be — small or big.
“I’ve tried to show people that, from the outside, things always look great, but it’s not always the case.
“I’m also struggling with lots of different things, battling certain demons and trying to make sure I am constantly growing as a person.”
When pressed as to what he meant by that comment, Hamilton stopped short of detailing his struggles.
But the Mercedes driver did admit to feeling a “darker side” which is always trying to drag him down.
He added: “To each and every one of us it is personal.
New;y-crowned champ Lewis Hamilton says everyone is struggling with a problem, big or small
“We are all challenged when you look in the mirror each day, and when you feel good or bad for whatever reason.
“There’s always the darker side that’s trying to pull you down and you are constantly having to wake up.
“When I wake up and I look in the mirror I’m trying to lift myself up and say, ‘Yes, you can do it. Yes, you are great.
“Yes, you can be fit if you go and put that time in. Yes, you can win this race if you do the right steps and continue to believe in yourself. And no one else is going to do it for you’.
“It’s just encouraging yourself always. I’m just trying to show a side that I didn’t understand — that we’re all similar in so many ways.”
Hamilton’s openness and honesty is admirable and he also revealed he is still struggling to come to terms with the death of mentor Niki Lauda in May.
It was the Austrian, a three-time world champion, who had convinced him to quit McLaren and join Mercedes.
And Hamilton remembers the chat they had during the 2012 Singapore Grand Prix, which put him on a path to overtake Michael Schumacher as F1’s most successful driver ever.
Yet he also admits to contemplating his own future in racing following the tragic death of F2 driver Anthoine Hubert, aged 22, at the Belgian GP.
“When I wake up and I look in the mirror I’m trying to lift myself up and say, ‘Yes, you can do it. Yes, you are great.”
Lewis Hamilton
He explained: “I would say this year that losing Niki, I didn’t think that was going to hit me as hard as it did.
“It really was upsetting and I miss him dearly today and I didn’t realise how much I loved the guy.
“From the moment that he was calling me, when I was back home, asking me to come to the team.
“To when we sat together in the hotel in Singapore, the weekend my gearbox broke at McLaren, to him always taking his hat off so our negotiations, to all sorts. Great conversations about his planes.
“That was a tough pivot point for us in the end — and also we lost a young kid in Spa.
“Again, I saw it on the TV, I saw it happen.
“That again, when something like that happens, can put lots of doubts in your mind.
“And you are thinking, ‘OK, jeez, is it time to stop or shall I keep going, because there’s lots of life afterwards. I still want to spend time with my family’.”
Hamilton will use the next few days to spend time with family and try to get his head around another extraordinary season of success — which he admits is yet to sink in.
He said: “I remember watching this sport when I was younger. My stepmum, Linda, would make me a bacon sandwich and me and dad would sit there together and watch the grand prix.
“It’s beyond surreal to think that this journey, my life journey, has brought me to this point in winning a sixth title.
“I don’t really know how I’m supposed to feel right now.”
Lewis Hamilton wins historic SIXTH Formula 1 world title after dramatic US Grand Prix to cement legacy as one of our greats
Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
