Lewis Hamilton revealed on the ‘Hot Ones’ podcast that he thought he was going to die during an incredibly scary surfing encounter.
After enduring numerous high-speed crashes as an esteemed F1 veteran, Lewis Hamilton revealed that a terrifying afternoon on his surfboard nearly cost him his life. Speaking on the popular “Hot Ones” podcast, Hamilton braved an increasingly fiery lineup of chicken wings while recounting, among other things, his perilous surfing adventure.
“I was out there with (American surfer) Kelly Slater at Pipeline, facing 20-foot waves,” Hamilton recounted. “Kelly told me, ‘You’re crazy if you think you can handle this.’ Despite his warning, I tried to paddle in and got pulled into the ‘kill zone.’ I turned around and saw a set of four waves coming. I thought, ‘This is it, I’m done for.'”
“I threw my board away, dove down, and clung to the reef. I could hear the wave crashing behind me. My board got torn apart and snapped in half. When I surfaced, gasping for air, another wave was coming, so I dove back down and held onto the reef again. I repeated this three times, nearly running out of air each time.”
Hamilton survived the ordeal and made it back to shore, exhausted but with a newfound respect for professional surfers. “After that, I had massive respect for these surfers,” Hamilton said, letting out a weary laugh.
In the latter part of his career, Hamilton found surfing to be a refreshing escape from the intense world of Formula 1. He began the hobby in 2014, taking his first lessons in Abu Dhabi, and by 2019, the racing icon had become completely captivated by the sport.
