From the highs of winning the drivers’ crown four times, to the pain of agonisingly missing out on the championship’s ultimate prize at the final hurdle – Lewis Hamilton has experienced it all in his 12 years in F1. The sport has both built him and broken him, as he explains candidly in the very first episode of F1’s brand-new podcast, Beyond The Grid, presented by Bose…

“Formula 1 has given me a life, given me a purpose, which is pretty special,” he told the show’s host Tom Clarkson. “But F1 has also broken me. It’s broken me and built me, broken me and built me.

“When you go through it, you put so much into it, it breaks your heart and kills you when you fail. When you stumble, when everyone’s watching when you stumble.

“But, when you get back up and when you succeed it lifts you up. You fall and you break a bone, you heal and you keep going. That’s what I mean by it.

“It’s the passion for what you do and the will to succeed. It’s just something that’s hard to express but everyone has it in some shape or form.

“Formula 1 has helped me grow and I have gained a lot more confidence within myself. What it has given me is the platform to be able to do things I want to do, live the life I could only have dreamed of."

You can listen to the full conversation above, which includes Lewis's thoughts on creativity, faith, travel, family and relationships - and even his dog's modelling career...

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