Lewis Hamilton Almost Gave Up on the Big League As Childhood Fears Started Creeping In: “I Was Petrified”

Go-karts act as stepping stones for most of the drivers before they land in the big leagues like Formula 1. Karting helps drivers with their race craft. When one masters karting, they can soon find himself racing in cars. However, the transition from karting to cars might not be very easy, something that Lewis Hamilton faced.

Before Hamilton moved to the big leagues, he was a karting driver. When the time and opportunity came, the Briton landed himself in cars. However, it wasn’t easy, as he once explained the tough moments he faced during the whole process.

During an interview with IWC Watches in 2015, Hamilton stated, “There was a moment when I moved to cars, it was really hard. The first few laps was going really well and then I spun off and crashed, destroyed the back of the car and I was petrified.”

“We did a first few races, disaster,” the Mercedes star further asserted.

“There was one day, there’s only one day really we got home one day, and we sat in front of the garage in the car and we’re talking and it was like a real down moment. You know, like maybe I just maybe I’m not gonna be able to adapt to this, from karting to cars,” concluded the Briton, who went on to be one of the best in the sport.

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Lewis Hamilton and his transition from go-kart to F1

It’s needless to say how astonishing the rise of Lewis Hamilton has been in the world of motorsport. The man who started his racing career with remote control cars when he was six years old is now the winner of most F1 races in history.

By the time Hamilton was eight, he mastered Go-kart. The 37-year-old driver became the cadet champion in 1995 when he was just 10 years old. The year after, he added the ‘McLaren Champion of the future’ title to his name.

The man from Stevenage kept on winning and turning heads. When he was 13, he landed himself a McLaren contract. Moving forward from there, Hamilton claimed immense success in Formula 3, Formula Renault, and GP2.

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The Briton received the golden chance to be Fernando Alonso’s teammate at McLaren in the 2007 F1 season. From there on, there was no looking back for Lewis Hamilton.