No Limits

When he’s not driving a car very, very fast, three-times Formula 1 world champion LEWIS HAMILTON leads a busy life. He talks to theresa harold about what winning means to him, and what the future holds after his last chequered flag.

ON THE RACETRACK he’s known for his natural talent, prodigious speed, killer instinct and, yes, sometimes a lack of patience. But on the day of his Prestige shoot, which takes place in a North London studio just 50km from his hometown, he’s the perfect gentleman. By the time we sit down on the couch, he’s wrapped up a four-hour photo shoot — on time — following a 5am flight from his home in Monaco. Tomorrow, he’ll fly to LA — just for the day. Because when you’re Lewis Hamilton, the world is not merely your oyster, but a vast oyster bed of possibilities.

During the shoot, Hamilton puts on a playlist of his favourite music. The beats are energetic, vaguely hypnotic — and sexy as hell. It suits him. Music, as we will find out, is very important to Team Hamilton. When pressed for names, he reels off a list of the greats: Prince, Marvin Gaye, Sam Cooke. Those are the old ones. As for new artists, he loves what The Weeknd’s doing, Majid Jordan and Gallant. Drake is also name-checked, while, “Ed Sheeran is one of the best writers there is.” Tupac, too, but that almost goes without saying nowadays.

In person, Hamilton’s light frame (he has to keep his weight down for the car) and boyish good looks make him appear younger than his 31 years. Perhaps that’s why L’Oréal Men Expert named him their new global spokesperson earlier this year. That, and the fact that Hamilton is an undisputed icon. A household name even to those unfamiliar with motorsport, he’s racked up an impressive following (3.3 million on Instagram, 3.7 million on Twitter). And while that pales in comparison to famous friends such as Justin Bieber, with his 87.5 million, that’s because Hamilton saves his record-breaking numbers for the track.