“I hate losing”: When Lewis Hamilton spoke candidly on his F1 mentality to Serena Williams

Competing at the pinnacle of motorsports comes with its mental and emotional demands, and Lewis Hamilton has never shied away from opening up about it. The British motorsports icon once spoke about his mental approach towards losing.

The seven-time world champion, who was interviewed by tennis icon Serena Williams for Interview magazine in 2017, touched on several aspects of his racing career and his overall approach to handling defeat. Hamilton was asked whether losing often makes him better; however, the then-Mercedes driver was quick to highlight how much he detests defeat.

“I hate losing. It doesn’t matter if it’s racing or playing Ping-Pong, I hate it. You’re either first or you’re last,” Lewis Hamilton said.

While defeats and setbacks are part of any champion’s journey, the Scuderia Ferrari driver has consistently exemplified his resilience, especially in the face of adversity throughout his racing career. The 40-year-old, whose Formula 1 career has now spanned 18 seasons, boasts the most race victories in the history of the sport – 105. Hamilton also holds the record for the most podium finishes – 202 – and shares the most Drivers’ championships – seven – alongside Michael Schumacher.

Hamilton, however, continues his search for what would be a record-setting eighth Drivers’ championship, and ahead of the 2025 campaign, he completed a switch to Italian outfit Scuderia Ferrari. So far, though, it must be stated that the move has not played out as he would have envisaged, as he continues his search for a maiden podium finish with the Maranello-based outfit.

---

Lewis Hamilton opens up on role winning plays in his life

Lewis Hamilton also opened up about the role winning has played in his life. The seven-time champion explained how emotionally crushing it used to be when he failed to claim race wins.

Speaking to Serena Williams in the same interview, Hamilton also revealed that winning used to be his sole focus during his formative years in racing. However, with the passing of time and experience, his perspective evolved—shifting his focus to the lessons he learned throughout his journey.

“It used to be the be-all and end-all. You know how it is—you’ve trained, you’ve made the mistakes before, you know how not to do it, and then you do it again, and you fail in such a spectacular way. The fall feels like it’s never-ending.

It used to take me days to recover, literally. One time I didn’t leave my hotel room for four days—I was so stuck in my head. But now, with maturity and age, I’ve realized that winning isn’t everything. It’s very much about the journey, particularly in my sport.

The Brit added that he has to be conscious of the many people in his team and that while winning is definitely the ultimate goal, the lessons learned when he doesn't only strengthen him.

Over the course of his illustrious career, Lewis Hamilton has proven to be an emblem not only of victory in Formula 1 but also of graciousness in defeat. The Ferrari driver has never shied away from showing respect to those who outperform him on the track. A notable example was his gesture after missing out on the 2021 Drivers’ championship to Max Verstappen, as he congratulated the Dutch driver following the conclusion of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.