Sir Lewis Hamilton on Being Knighted by King Charles, Begging to Be in Top Gun & Formula 1 Racing

Our next guest is a knight of the British Empire, part owner of the Denver Broncos, and in his spare time, one of the great Formula One drivers of all time. He's racing again Sunday at the Mexico Grand Prix. You can watch it on ESPN. Please welcome Sir Lewis Hamilton. You're a sir now. Last time, you were just a Lewis. I am. So good to see you. Thank you so much. Hi, everyone. You, uh, you, uh, how does, oh, thank you. Well, you look, I like you. You're very stylish. I mean, you might be the most stylish race car driver ever. I definitely am, yeah. Yeah, definitely. A lot of these guys have, like, logos all over their bodies. Yeah, you know? You are, as I mentioned, a knight. How does that work? Did you know King, now King Charles? I know he was the prince when he knighted you. I met him when I was 13. So when I went to McLaren when I was 13 years old, I was signed at 13 years old. And I went to the factory, and he came to open the factory up. And so I was sitting in my go-kart in the, um, where they put, where they have all the cars. And I sat there, and he came, and he knelt down and said, asked me what I wanted to do, what my dreams were, and told him one day I wanted to be former world champion. And so then coming to, all the way down the line, I'm at the, uh, at the palace. And you have to take these certain steps, uh, to get to the prince. Right, very formal, right? Very, very formal, yeah. You walk, you, like, take three steps, turn 90 degrees, take another four steps, and then turn left, bow two steps, and then take the knee. And I took the knee, and puts the sword on your shoulders. I was very nervous, because you feel like the sword might be very sharp or something. Yeah, right. But when I got back up, he's like, you've come a long way. Wow, that's interesting. Wow, that's pretty crazy. Did he remember speaking to you when you were a kid? He did, yeah, and that's why he said he's come, I remember speaking to you. So we had a real short chat. There was loads of other people in the line, so. Wow, amazing. Now, did you drive yourself here tonight? I didn't. I don't like to drive. Don't like to drive? No, people always ask me. I actually don't really like driving, unless I'm going fast. Do people get nervous when you're in the back seat or in the passenger seat, and they're driving? Honestly, the best passenger. You're a good passenger. The only time I ever drive is when I go back, and if I go and visit my parents, who actually, they're in LA with us right now. My dad's driving around somewhere. I think he's going down to PCH. He loves cars, and he loves driving. But for me, I'd rather just hand the keys to my friends or something like that. I don't like traffic. It's more stressful for me. Yeah, right. When I get home, I have an old Mini Cooper, like the Mr. Bean car. And I go and take it back into the town that I grew up in, and I drive down memory lane. I go past my first school. I go past my first house. No one would expect me in that car, that's for sure. Wow. And you're a Brit. Which is the correct side to drive on? Is it right or left? I mean, what makes the most sense? I think we have it wrong, if I'm really honest. I mean, obviously, growing up in the UK. But when I get home, I don't know which side of the road I'm supposed to be on. Right, you got to think twice about it, right? Yeah, I get on the road, I'm always on the wrong side, initially. And I think they have it wrong. Yeah. But yeah, in a way, though, you're a knight. You have it right, no matter which side of the deal you're on. One thing with my dad, when I called my dad after I got the call, that I would be receiving this knighthood. And we were just reminiscing, just thinking how amazing. We're both so blown away. And he says, do I have to call you sir now? I was like, yes. Obviously, I don't make him call me sir. My niece and nephew, they call me sir uncle. They do, sure, yeah. Oh, yeah. If I was your niece or nephew, I'd be calling you uncle sir every minute, every chance I got. Now, you're a part owner of the Denver Broncos. Do you regret that now, now that you've been to see the team play this season? No, get out of here. Honestly, it's such an honor. It's such an amazing opportunity. I remember when I was probably like nine years old. And I used to play Madden on the Super Nintendo. Oh, wow. First Super Nintendo. I used to live on an American airbase for a short period of time in the UK. So that's the first time I became aware of it. And then I've been to many Super Bowls, been to the first game in the UK. I'm going to miss the one this weekend, unfortunately, because I'm racing in Mexico. But I love the game so much. So when this opportunity came up, my big sis, Melody Hobson, called me and said she has this amazing opportunity. Would you like to be a part of it? I was like, I jumped at it. You did? Well, there's a real lack of black ownership and black equity. I really am pushing for diversity constantly. So there's a lot of work to do. And I'm really proud of it. Now, I know some people who've owned like a little piece of a team. Do you know that when they, on the years that they lose money, you have to give them more money? Really? Yeah. I didn't know that. Yeah, neither did he. Neither did the guy that I talked to about this. That's right. We got Rob. So you're a knight. You're an NFL owner. Would you agree that you are the greatest Formula One driver in history? Is that too bold a statement? You know what? I know what I am. I know how good I am. But I don't really like to talk about it. I like to just do the talking on the track. That's what my dad always said when I was a kid. When we were racing and we were on the receiving end of, there's a lot of discrimination when we were kids because we were the only people of color on the racetrack. Right. My dad said, just do your talking on the track. So even today, like, I don't feel like I need to say it. I just let my, what I'm doing on the circuit, what I'm doing off the circuit kind of talk. It is very, it's very demanding, right? As far as, like, it's exhausting to race a car. It is. Yeah. Well, I mean, I just had the race on Sunday. I lost seven pounds. You lost seven pounds in a race? Yeah. Oh, we got to get an awkward Guillermo. We got to get out of that car. Yeah, I need that. Yeah. I love this guy. Oh, thank you. I love you, too. You also are making a movie with Brad Pitt right now. I am. Yeah. I saw Brad was at the race. And he was there hanging out and doing some research. Is that what was going on there? Oh, man, it's been such an amazing experience, meeting Brad. So basically, we're doing the movie, the new Formula One movie. And Joe Kaczynski and Brad are at the racetrack with us. Brad is the star. And I've just started a production company because I've loved movies, like probably all of you. I've loved movies my whole life, been massively inspired by so many movies. And it's a dawn of a new age. That's why it's called Dawn Apollo. And it's really because now you're seeing more diversity on TV. And I want to be part of that. I want to be telling stories that are from diverse stories. There's so many that can be inspiring young people and people of our age out there. Do you want to be in front of the camera? I wanted to try at one stage. I had this amazing opportunity to be. I begged Tom Cruise to put me in Maverick. I heard about this. And what did he say? He said yes. I was like, I'll be anything. I'll be, I could be the Janissary. I could do anything in the background. I'm happy to do it. Well, you weren't in the movie, right? Well, no. He did give me a role as one of the pilots. And I was fighting for the championship at the time. And I couldn't take the time off. It's on the top of my list of things I regret not doing. And he. So you had to call him and go, thanks, but no thanks? Yeah, it was. Tom Cruise? Yeah, it was kind of crazy. But obviously, Joe Kaczynski did it. And we're doing this movie together. So you know, everything comes around. Not really. I think you missed out. I definitely did. Well, maybe there'll be another sequel. And actually, I don't know. I've got a few lines here from Top Gun. And maybe you want to give it a run here. There you go. We'll see how you do. Jimmy, Jimmy, I'm a producer now. So how about you do it? Well, no, I'm not. You want to be in the movie. You're going to be the star of the next Top Gun. Trust me. Let me handle your career here. OK. And action. I feel the need for speed. That was good. I think if you're going to be an American fighter pilot, though, you're going to have to lose the accent. You know what I'm saying? So which accent do I need to have? American. You're part of our Air Force, you know, or whatever it is. All right, try it. Try it. Go again. And act two. I feel the need for speed. See, that's what we're looking for. You'll make a few calls. I have a feeling I think Tom will like that. Well, it's great to have you here. Congratulations on your sir-ship and all your success. Thank you. Watch the Mexico Grand Prix.