After achieving his first world title in 2008 with McLaren, Hamilton made a shock move to Mercedes in 2013, proceeding to win a staggering six world championships.
Niki Lauda, who joined Mercedes in 2012, played a huge role in getting Hamilton to sign for the team, a friendship developing between the drivers over the years.
Niki Lauda’s ban on Hamilton fashion parties
Hamilton revealed that despite reaching the pinnacle of the sport, he was ‘quite unhappy’.
In a recent interview with British GQ Hamilton explained the escape fashion has provided, and the resistance he faced in the F1 as a result
“I come from a racing world where me and my dad were really the only people of colour,” he said. “And then when I went to the fashion world, it was so mixed, so diverse. I loved it.”
In 2018 at the height of his F1 success, Hamilton was invited to design five collections for brand Tommy Hilfiger.
When he attended a party in New York celebrating his 2018 collection, he encountered opposition from Niki Lauda.
“The narrative was: Oh, he’s not focused. But I wasn’t out partying late or drinking like that. I got to Singapore, and I delivered one of the best laps that I’ve ever delivered,” Hamilton added.
“And after that, everyone was like, Oh, he can do that. Even Niki would say to Toto: ‘You can’t let Lewis do this! This is not what a racing driver does!’
“But eventually I got him to see it: Oh, maybe he can do those things too.”