-Welcome to the show. -Thank you.
-Dang. -Uh, it is so good to have you here.
And I think for many of my viewers,
I have to situate you and who you are,
because it's a little bit crazy.
You are a four-time Formula 1 world champion.
Formula 1 is one of the biggest sports in the world.
You're a race car driver,
but oftentimes when I have to explain it to people,
they go like, "Formula 1?" They go like, "What is that?"
-"What is it?" Yeah. -Yeah. And I go like, "It's NASCAR,
-but they turn the other way." -(laughs)
And, like, is it strange for you?
Is it a bit surreal being in a position
where you are in a sport that genuinely is...
Hundreds of millions of people watch this around the world,
but in America, there's many people
who have no clue what you do.
Uh, I wouldn't say it's strange.
I think, you know, here, the...
People grow up and the drivers grow up
-to do NASCAR or IndyCar -Right.
So, um, just like it's NFL, for example. Here you have...
-That's-- ours is soccer in England, so... -Right.
Um, and then we only have one race here,
and we've not had a race here for many, many years.
Um, there was a gap we had I think up until 2007.
There was Indianapolis, and then not till 2012, so...
But it's growing here, but yeah, I'm educating.
Every time I meet someone, I'm telling them something new.
And particularly, uh, when I talk
about, like, the weight that I lose.
They're like, "Wow."
How much weight do you lose? 'Cause people don't know.
Like, well, the most I've ever lost in a race
is ten and a half pounds in an hour and 45 minutes.
-And that was, like, Malaysia and Singapore. -Right.
And so every time I tell that to an American,
they're like, "Wow, I need to be a racing driver."
(laughter)
You know, I think one of the reasons
F1 is growing in America is because of your presence.
You-You're not a regular racing driver
that's only on the track. You're out and about.
Um, people love your story.
So what-what I think a lot of people
have been really attracted to when it comes to your story
is the journey that you are on.
So, I mean, you grew up in a sport
-that is really reserved for very rich people, right? -Yeah.
But you did not grow up rich at all,
and your dad made your career possible.
Like, how did that all begin?
How hard was that journey getting into F1?
Uh, it was incredible.
I mean, I grew up on my dad's couch
and in a normal council estate,
uh, and it was a weekend hobby for me and my dad.
We kind of stumbled across it.
-We started racing RC cars when I was four. -Right.
And he thought I had really good hand-to-eye coordination,
so he bought me a go-kart.
It was really old, from the newspaper.
And we arrived at the track for the first time.
We were not welcome. We were the only first...
-the only black people there. -Right.
And, um, you know, and it was very, very expensive,
so my dad had four jobs just to keep us going.
He was going to London, doing his normal job,
which was I.T. at a railway station.
And then he would come home.
He'd be putting up for sale signs,
vending machines, anything he could find
a little bit of cash to... 'cause it's so expensive.
-Right. -Uh, but I was lucky.
I got signed when I was 13, so that's really...
But the goal and my dream started when I was five,
was to be like Ayrton Senna,
-which you know much about. -Right, right, right.
And, um, and kind of we never lost sight of that.
But my dad... what my dad didn't want us to do
is to struggle as he did.
He's from Grenada. Came to London
and, you know, struggled, really,
um, finding money, finding a good job.
And he... Also, my brother's disabled,
so he's like, "I don't want my kids to struggle like I have."
So he worked to the bone to create an opportunity for us.
Right. The two of you were a team.
I mean, you've got your dad teaching you how to race cars.
You get signed at 13,
and that's really the beginning of the journey.
Because many people have said in the world
that F1 is the pinnacle of driving.
I mean, these are the fastest cars in the world.
You know, this is zero to 60 in-- What is it now?
Is it a second now? What-what are you at now? What is it, two?
-What is it? -It's still, like, two.
Oh, still two. Of-- I'm sorry. Still two seconds.
Zero to 60 in two seconds.
You-you have this machine that you are controlling,
and you are driving against the fastest drivers in the world.
You went from nothing to being a four-time world champion.
Every single day is a challenge for you.
And now you're gonna be racing in Austin,
in America, and you could win your fifth world championship,
which-which is record-breaking on so many levels.
Do you sometimes take a moment to pause and go, like,
-"This is-- this is surreal"? -Oh, every day.
I'm, you know-- I get to travel the world.
I get to see and meet so many different peech-- people.
And, um, racing the Formula One car
is just the greatest thing, man.
Uh, I remember from the first day
that I got to drive a Formula One car in 2006.
Um, and when I entered Formula One, I was 22.
I'm 33 now.
And my goal was always to emulate
this-this older, you know, legendary driver.
He was a Brazilian who died in the sport,
'cause it is a dangerous sport.
-And he was three-time world champion, as you know. -Right.
And so, two years ago, I-I equaled him,
um, which was kind of just an incredible moment for-for me.
And then, since then, I've kind of been trying to carry on
the baton from him, because, as I said,
-he was the guy I always wanted to be. -Right.
And you-you're still the only black F1 driver.
And it's always surreal and interesting,
'cause, like, when the camera goes, you know,
down the paddock, they'll show, like, all the drivers,
all the drivers. And, just generally, I mean, like,
F1, in many ways, is sort of like equestrian sports.
You can see what a person looks like when they're in it.
You're like, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, you-you do--
you ride the horses. You ride the horses. You ride--"
Like, everyone's got that look. And then it gets to you,
and it's like, "Uh, I'm sorry, sir, how did you get in here?"
Like, and a lot of people complained about that initially.
-They were like, "Is he bringing hip-hop to the sport? -I know.
"Is he bringing-- is he gonna put, like, a sound system
in his car? Is that what's happening here?"
-That's exactly how it is. -But, like, you've-you've shown
that you can still be yourself
and be a professional racing driver at the same time.
Has that been an important journey for you?
It really has. And it's been really difficult
to break that mold. You know, they-they--
There was this saying that you have to--
This is what a racing driver does. This is how they look.
And this is how they talk.
-Right. -And to break that mold has taken a long time.
I've been-- As a-- I've been here now-- it's my 11th season.
Um, but I think, in today's world,
you have to transcend. You have to do something different.
You have to, uh, show your uniqueness
-and, um-- and not shy away from that. -Right.
And that's really something that I've really worked hard on.
Um, and now it's accepted. When I do all this traveling,
which is a lot more than any other racer ever does,
and then-- and they're like, "Oh, he's gonna be distracted."
And I turn up and I win. And then they're-they're,
"Oh, well, that was good for him." So...
Uh, one of the things that's-that's really fascinating
is that difference that you bring, right?
The way you dress has been one of the key things.
You're always in the magazines for your fashion sense,
and now you've taken that to the next level.
You've teamed up with Tommy Hilfiger, right,
and I think it's... the thing is TommyXLewis, which I say is
-"Tommy by Lewis." -Tommy by Lewis, yeah.
This says, "TommyXLewis," and I feel like
we need to get this sorted out, because, like,
iPhone says it's not "X," it's "ten."
-And then, you guys say it's not "by," it's "X." -Yeah.
And then, like, we got to agree on what this is.
But the fashion itself is being really well-received.
-You had a show in China... -Yup.
...which was phenomenal.
Like, you had everyone from Gigi Hadid there.
You-you have the world now looking to your clothing,
and they're going, like, "You're a fashion designer."
How do you go from racing cars to designing clothes?
Like, they don't...
'Cause, like, racing drivers are very, like, very, like,
-(with European accent): "Yes, we turn then we drive." -Yes.
"Then we go straight." -Go straight and turns.
"Then we come back."
-That's a racing driver. -True.
And then, you're like, "Yeah,
like, the shapes and everything."
Like, where did that come from?
Honestly, it's been an incredible experience.
I met Tommy here in New York, um, like, five years ago,
and every time I saw him he was like,
"I love how you're dressing. We should do something together."
And I... and I... I was like, "No way.
Tommy wants to do something with me?"
I didn't truly believe what he was saying, but, uh..
I've had the same thing. I had H and M say, like,
"Yo, you dress really well."
So I mean, we're both... we're both in the same boat.
-But, yeah, yeah, carry on. -(applause and cheering)
That's how we roll. That's how we roll.
So, yeah. So Tommy Hilfiger says he likes how you dress.
-Yeah. -Yeah, yeah.
So, obviously, the partnership came up,
and I was able to bring them to the team,
so they're the team sponsor.
And, uh, and the opportunity
to design my own clothing collection.
So, uh, I really took it on as a...
an internship really, because I get to learn
-from an icon like Tommy. -Mm-hmm.
Um, and I did a lot of homework.
I'd been going to a lot of fashion shows.
Well, fashion's just something I've always been into.
And also, just discovering the looks that I like
and discovering how I want to feel...
-how I want to dress and express myself. -Right.
So, um, and it's going really well.
It's sold out, and when I was in Tokyo, it sold out there.
I think in the States, for the first, uh, couple...
well, few weeks it came out, it was a large...
Like, 77% of sales, men's sales,
-was my collection, so it's going good. -That's amazing.
-Yeah. -You also have, uh, really been advocating for,
and you implemented it, in having models who are diverse.
You... Like, when I saw the runway show,
-it was everyone who looked like everyone. -Yeah.
It was really beautiful and different to see on a runway.
-And that wasn't a mistake. -No, absolutely.
So I like to get involved
in everything, and I micromanage everything, so, um, so...
What music we're gonna play.
-So I did the music, the playlist for the show. -Right.
When we had the... It is the men's show,
so, um, it was just going to be men,
and I was like, "I really want it to be mixed."
I do want women to walk and dress in these clothes,
'cause, you know, today's world,
-women do wear men's clothes. -Right.
And I think diversity and inclusivity is every...
is such an important thing... message to get across today.
And so, that's what I wanted to do with my clothing.
It's fantastic, man. Congratulations
-on everything you're doing. -Thank you.
Excited for the race.
The Formula One U.S. Grand Prix in Austin
will take place on October 21,
and the TommyXLewis collection is available now.
Lewis Hamilton, everybody.