LEWIS HAMILTON has opened up on the reasoning behind his split from his dad as his manager.
During the early days of his record-breaking Formula One career, Hamilton was managed by his father Anthony.
This paid dividends early on, with Hamilton winning the 2008 title with McLaren in just his second year in the sport – with his debut season seeing him only narrowly miss out on the title to Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen.
Consequently, it came as a surprise to many when Hamilton suddenly split from his dad as his manager in 2010.
Speaking on the On Purpose podcast, Hamilton explained the decision, revealing the pair's professional relationship from karting and into F1 had put strain on an otherwise strong bond.
He said: "The thing with my dad was he was my manager all the way. We got to Formula One, and he worked so hard.
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"His work ethic was inspiring for me, seeing how hard he worked, the time he gets up in the morning, the little sleep that he would have, ending the day in the garage, working on the go-kart, preparing for the weekend, packing up the truck and getting us to where we are.
"Mechanic-ing and learning to be a better mechanic and still weighing all these different things. It was quite phenomenal to see.
“But I think it was difficult for him to then show me love.
"Sometimes you just want a hug from your dad or, when you’re facing these things, you want to be able to be embraced."
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Hamilton explained that once he entered the "pit" that is F1, the pressure to succeed caused him and his father to become more distant emotionally.
He added: "At the time, I didn’t have management other than my dad, and my step-mum booked flights and trips.
"But I didn’t have PR, I didn’t have anybody to help protect me or prepare me for things.
"Driving, I was good, I will say. But, in these things, is where a lot of mistakes happened.
"You’ve got all the media attention, so you’re just learning on the go, which was very difficult for a youngster I think.
"Also you just want to try and live some sort of normal life, but nothing is normal for you at the time.
"The thing for me and my dad – we were just really bumping heads at one stage.
"It was like ‘I really just want you to be my dad, let’s go and have fun, let’s go and have a laugh’. We hadn’t had that for a long, long time.
"So, eventually, I decided to part ways from my dad and I was like, ‘I’m gonna start making some of the decisions for myself and the mistakes that I’m gonna need to make’."
In the end, the decision proved to be inspired as Hamilton went on to win another six world championships after joining Mercedes in 2013.
It also allowed for a cooling-off period between him and his dad, with the 38-year-old admitting it took time to mend their fractured relationship.
He said: "There was definitely a period of time where we spoke less.
"But we both have worked so hard to come back together and we have one of the greatest relationships (now) – he’s the first person I want to call when I finish a race.
"Because I know he knows what it’s like, he was there from day one."
Hamilton also added that his dad has been important for him in overcoming recent struggles on the track.
Those include his Abu Dhabi GP heartbreak in 2021 when Max Verstappen pipped him to the title – which led to the now-famous image of Anthony hugging Lewis in the paddock.
Hamilton added: "There are days where I do feel like I’m not enough, there are days where I don’t feel like I’m good enough.
"People can be like, ‘Yeah, but you’ve won seven world titles’ but still there are days where I question ‘have you still got it, can you still be the best?’
"I’m having that conversation with myself often. But my dad’s also there. Sometimes I’ll say something that’s maybe not the most positive.
"And he’ll be the one there just reaffirming ‘you’ve got this, believe in yourself’.
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"It’s so important for people to have people like that around them. I support myself, I surround myself with other positive people as well.
"I think it’s all our job to lift everyone up. I want everyone around me to win, and to become the best versions of themselves."
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