Formula 1 reporters don’t ever ask Lewis Hamilton about peeing in the car. That’s the joy of seeing the 39-year-old guest on the wildly popular internet show “Hot Ones.” Leave it to host Sean Evans to get Lewis out of his shell a little. The show is brilliant in its format, as the hot wings help give the interviewees an ice breaking moment with the host and let down their defenses. Nowhere is that more evident than in Lewis Hamilton’s visit to the hot seat. Gone is his air of reservedness and quiet response, and in its place is a happy and talkative Lewis. It’s a great interview, and you should watch it right now.
On F1 weekends the reporters ask boring things about tires and competitive advantages and whatnot. The drivers are forced to give boilerplate nothingburger answers. I, for one, would love to see Ted Kravitz ask Lewis about the time he went surfing with Kelly Slater. It would make for much more interesting F1 television broadcasts. Wouldn’t you rather hear Lewis’ voice light up when he talks about adopting Roscoe, his bulldog buddy? That’s a lot more exciting than asking if he’s disappointed in finishing 8th or whatever.
The long-time Mercedes driver is running off to join the horse team from Maranello next season, so 2024 is kind of a wash for the 39-year-old. He’s grown a lot and come to be an elder statesman of the sport. That’s what makes this interview so magnificent. He doesn’t have to keep everything under his hat anymore, and he can let loose a little.
“It hurts when I breathe,” says the most successful F1 racer in history, right before going back for a second run at the notoriously spicy “Da Bomb Beyond Insanity” sauce. You gotta hand it to him, he held his own and ran the spicy wing gauntlet without issue. Perhaps his near immunity to spicy hot sauce is due in part to his Grenadian heritage. I’ve never seen another Brit be able to handle anything more spicy than peri peri sauce.
Spend twenty joyful minutes with Hamilton. You might even leave the interview having learned something.