Hamilton: I don’t know why they’re hating on me

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Triple Formula 1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton is baffled why he gets so much criticism for sharing his love of music and wanting to pursue a career as a musician when his days in Formula 1 are over.

He told Daily Mail, “I don’t know why they’re hating on me… Why do they say it? And why do they keep saying I’m a rapper? I’m a singer. I love R’n’B.”

Hamilton is often seen in the company of musicians, while admitting that his audience with Kanye West was one of the most nerve-wracking moments of his life, “This guy’s a legend in the business… I was sweating, I was nervous as hell.”

According to the Mail on Sunday, Hamilton describes his music as as “R’n’B sound with mixture of hip hop artists such as The Weeknd and Drake.”

The Mercedes F1 driver has a studio at his home and is often in Los Angeles where he visits recording studios, “I have enough music for several albums. When I first came into F1 I had racing and a relationship [with Nicole Scherzinger], and nothing else I really aspired to.”

“I didn’t have time for the other interests I had growing up, they fell by the wayside. Now I’m playing catch up. I wanted to do music at school, but my dad made me take history. That wasn’t my thing, I still pursued music but in the background.”

“Now I’m able to give 100 per cent to my racing and still give a good chunk of my energy to other things. I love creativity, so I go to art shows, fashion shows, I love going to concerts when I can. I’m in awe of seeing people perfect their craft.”

Hamilton has been hugely successful on the track, achieving accolades and titles that have put him among the legends of the sport – the likes of Michael Schumacher, Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Niki Lauda and Jackie Stewart, but he insists, “This sport is not what my life is about. When I stop, the sport will go on. I want to go on and be challenged by something else.”

Hamilton will spearhead Mercedes’s attempt to win their eight title in four years, having dominated the previous three in which Hamilton added two world titles to the one he won in 2008.

Like the greats, particularly Schumacher Senna and Prost, Hamilton divides opinions and his affections are split into two camps: those that love him and those that loathe him.

Last year Hamilton said in an interview with City AM Magazine, “There’s a lot more to me than just driving. Driving, while it’s what I do best, is not a huge part of me in the sense that I have a lot more to offer.”