Lewis Hamilton Goes Full Send While Eating Spicy Wings | Hot Ones

New napkin over there. Yeah. Be careful. Be careful. What is it? What am I? What? Hey, what's going on, everybody? For First We Feast, I'm Sean Evans, and you're watching Hot Ones. It's the show with hot questions and even hotter wings. And today we're joined by Lewis Hamilton. He's the winningest Formula One driver in the history of the sport, a seven-time world driver's champion with a record-breaking 103 wins. But how will he fare today against our all-gas, no brakes gauntlet of spicy wings? Only time will tell. Lewis Hamilton, welcome to the show. Thanks for having me. This almost seems like a silly question considering what you do for a living, but are you at all nervous going into this Hot Ones interview? Watch the show. I'm a big fan of everything you've been doing. It's so hilarious, some of the stuff that you've done and the people that have come on. And then sometimes I'm like, I could take that. And then I'm like, maybe not. And you know, I've canceled several times. I know. I know. I know, Lewis. But you know what's nice about you? You did send me a succulent plant one time. You know, it looked great in the entryway of my apartment. A part of it was the schedule, but mostly it was like, I don't know if I can do it. And even on the way here, I was honestly, I was like, how can I get out of this? Well, you know what? You didn't think of anything and you're here now, you're trapped on my show. Are you ready to get started? I'm so happy to be here and to meet you. So yeah, let's do it. Let's do it. That was a good entry point. So in recent years, you've really immersed yourself in the interest that you have outside of racing, including producing a yet to be titled F1 film made by the group that put together Top Gun Maverick and starring Brad Pitt. Do you have a biggest pet peeve when it comes to racing movies? You know, sometimes when I'm watching them, I'll notice I'm like, they have them shifting too much, you know, which I understand because it does look good on camera. Racing movies, I feel like it's very, very hard to capture them. You know, I mean, I've done, you know, each year you have to do filming with like a, you're following like a truck that has a camera on the back. So it's hard to catch the, capture the speed. You know, you can't have a truck following, filming us at 200 miles an hour. So it's all kind of faked at a slower speed and they speed it up, but this is all real time, real speed. I think if you go back to like Steve McQueen, for example, back then they would have men laying on front of the car with the camera, you know, like, or, you know, they'd have a big camera on top of the helmet as well. Now we've got all this amazing new technology. So I'm, I feel like, you know, Joe's honestly, I think he's going to blow people away. How hard is that? Just a little bit harder than the first one. So many sports have unique requirements when it comes to the optimal weight of an athlete. What goes into perfectly calibrating your race weight? And then what are the implications of being off by just a pound or two? Basically a kilo or 10 kilos. Like when we go to a racetrack, 10 kilos is usually worth between 2.5, 0.25 or three tenths of a second. So immediately, if you put 10 kilos of fuel, 22 pounds of fuel in the car, that's, you'll just go slower. But there was one race where I was a kilo over. So over a whole race distance, it's like 1.8 seconds or something like that. We do have a drink tube in the car, but I never drink in the car. I just forget most of the time. So I usually have that weight taken out. It's only like 500 milliliters, but, um, other drivers, most, quite a lot of drivers, as far as I'm aware, pee in the car. I mean, I've drunk a lot before. So literally just before we get in the car, I go as many times as possible right at the last minute, but I just can't bring myself to pee myself. I just, I just have you ever, I have once, um, it was Singapore and historic moment. Oh God. It was, it was like two or three years, maybe two or three years ago. And basically the safety car came out and I was behind the safety car. I was like, I'm dying. And honestly, when your bladder's full with the G force that you're pulling, it's the most, I've been in traffic on the way to the airport. Like I know how that feels. Right. Yeah. It's really, really uncomfortable. I know. So you pull in the G force, you just can't focus on your job. So I remember trying to go and I really had to force it. Like it's really hard, but luckily I haven't had to do it like only once. Oh, I like this one. I love, I do generally love hot sauce. I like, like try and go out my way to find a good hot sauce. I know you were nervous coming in, but I'm telling you on the other side of this, you're going to realize your hot sauce potential that you had all along. There was never a reason, never a reason to swerve on Hollywood. When I call you tomorrow, I'm like, another friend actually told me that a couple of friends came on here and they did also tell me, they frightened me off. They told me the night, the night afterwards they were on the toilet You know, I never mentioned that in studio to them, you know what I mean? But you're right. Hot ones always has a second act, you know, always a reminder of your experience. So the British Grand Prix is one of F1's most hallowed and historic races. As a native Brit, who's won at a record eight times, where did the hair raising corners known as maggots and Beckett's fall amongst the world's most treacherous? Well, they're not treacherous. I mean, well, I mean, we as racing drivers, we don't look at them as treacherous. They're just corners. See, we're thrill seekers. Like for me, I'm like, that's awesome. You want to go through the corner faster. I remember the first time I drove a Formula One car, it was in 2006. Cops is usually a corner you take full throttle at like 190 miles an hour. I was like, I got to hit this hard and I've got to go for it. And they were impressed that I was, I was on it so much. But maggots and Beckett's is just like the most beautiful, fast flowing section where you're full speed all the way in. So you're doing like 190, 200, something like that. And that's where you get the most G-force. So your body's been thrown around, your insides have been thrown all around. But when you hit the sweet spot, it's like, I say poetry in motion because that's what my uncle says. My nose is already dripping a little bit. So you're taking big bites. How are you not fat? I'm just trying to match you. I'm just trying to match you. I heard you had like 3000 wings or something over the time. Yeah, I have. You know what? Cardio, that's it. No, that's the only thing is you just got to run away from the wind. You should do the vegan ones. It saves so many chickens. You're right about that. So you once said that during a race, you'll become one with the car, which made me curious. When are you most in conflict with the machine that you're driving? Like right now. At what point in the race do you most feel like you're trying to make the car do something it doesn't want to do? At the moment, it's every second. But probably at the beginning of the race. You know, when you're on heavy fuel, you can't go 100%. You can't do like qualifying laps every lap. So you have to pull back and try to hit the corners a little bit slower to go longer. So that's what's hard for you is pulling back. Yeah, it's like trying to and also knowing how much to pull back. You know, sometimes you pull back too much and you end your stint when you do pit stop and you still have tires left. That's the point when you realize you didn't use them up. So yeah. Well, there's no pulling back today, Lewis. Are you ready to move on here to the halfway mark? Yeah. So this next one is Meow's Revenge here in the five spot. Meow's Revenge. What the hell? These chicken wings are really good. Okay, that's a little bit more. Wings are great. Sauce is getting a little dicey at this altitude. Are you just always teary? Do I look teary right now? Yeah, maybe, Lewis. It's kind of a natural state of mind, I think. What do you do to lighten your stomach? Are you just eating this every day? Like once a week. Once a week. Okay. You know, I don't do that much to line or anything, but I love the post-show ritual. You know, like I love a bowl of ice cream and the air conditioning and nobody calling me, nobody emailing me. Like I've come to have this little finish line that I really, it's kind of the peace in my week. I would imagine. All right. So Lewis Hamilton, I know that you've long had a love for dogs ever since a Labrador named Goldie used to walk you to school in the morning and then find its own way home. So in the spirit of that, what we've done is dusted off an old classic, a recurring segment we call Explain That Graham. Okay. And we have a theme this time around. And that theme is your rescue bulldog, Roscoe Hamilton. So we'll pull the picture up over here on the monitor. And then you just tell us the bigger story. Prior to adopting Roscoe, you looked at thousands of bulldogs online. I'm curious, what was it about this guy in particular that made you think this is the one? I wanted a dog that was small because I couldn't take a big dog around with me traveling, but butch like strong. Yeah. Didn't want like a tiny little pug or something, you know, like a Chihuahua. And then I think he was eight weeks old when I got him. And he was like just the easiest dog. He never chewed anything. He was just chill from the get-go. You picked right from the beginning. My sister just got a new dog and it's horrendous. Like it's biting, it's chewing everything and tearing up wolves. Does he have a go-to race day tradition? Like what's his favorite and least favorite part about visiting the track? His favorite is pulling in front of other drivers' motorhomes. So a couple of times you let him out in the morning and he's gone and done a dump in front of like George's trailer or Fernando's trailer. But the great thing with dogs, I mean, I don't trust people that are not animal lovers, but they're always happy to see you when you come back, right? Yeah. This is the best part of the day is when you wake up and play with them and then when you come back from work. Especially when you have a face like that to come home to. It's ridiculous. And he's like the team mascot. He comes in and sits next to Bono and looks like he's doing engineering. And then makes the rounds, takes some dumps, sets the tone. Yeah, exactly. I felt that one on my lip. Yeah. Should I have some more? I'll join you. I love it. Yeah. Yeah. Really settling into the show here. Yeah. Yeah. Stings the nostrils. How would you articulate the difference, if there is one, in a driver's mentality? Is an underdog contending for a title? I've not heard a single word you just said. What'd you say? Right. Like, is there a mindset difference between being a hunter and being the hunted? Oh yeah, definitely. I think it's easier to hunt. If you're chasing and you make mistakes, you can get away, you know, you fall two steps back and you can regain or work your way back. But if you're leading and you have a car failure, it's just so much more nerve-wracking, I would say. So I much, much prefer chasing. But I got to a point where I learned how to maintain kind of the chase. So what I used to do is I just used to picture me further up ahead. And so I was just chasing myself. And that seemed to keep me on a straightener. Red flag. That usually means stop. You're taking bigger bites. I've noticed that. I'm trying to keep up with you. I'm trying to keep up with you over here. Look at this tiny bite I took at the beginning. You were trying to see where you'd fall, you know what I mean? But now you're feeling confident, feeling good. That's an elbow room working. Yeah, I'm ready. You see, I came with just sleeveless because I was like, that's smart. I even brought my bandana just in case. What are some of the most exciting ways you've seen racetrack attire translate into streetwear? I remember the... Okay, I've noticed that just hit me. Yeah. I remember when I was younger, I was particularly like race boots where when you look at like Santa, the old race suits were really cool from back in the late 80s. But then obviously it got more and more technical. So as it got more and more technical, it got less and less cool. But I think you're now starting to see a lot more drivers come out of their shell and focus a bit more on fashion. And how it went for me is like, I was walking into the track and I was like, there's no way of getting away from the cameras. I tried climbing over the fence to avoid them and they find you. So I was like, if I'm going to get rid of that. Oh God, this can't be good in your stomach. Yeah. It's probably when you take a breather. Holy shit. Yeah. Right along with you. Yeah. This one never gets easier for me either. Respect. This is going to be painful. This one. Holy crap. That one's hot. No, I'm starting to precipitate and does grow on you a little bit. I don't know if I could take another bite that way. Yeah. Don't worry. Cause I keep pace. So if you put that down, I'll put that down. Good. And on that note, you know, it's notable, but not at all surprising that a lot of your hobbies are thrill-seeking activities. Kind of how you took another bite of that wing. Here I am now hiccuping through this. Holy shit. What's the biggest wipe out you've ever suffered while surfing? Biggest wipe out was, wow. It's hard to talk. Oh my mouth. What do I drink? I'd go for the milk. Okay. I'll join you. And I got the tears going. Yeah. And just an emotional journey through your story and everything, Louis. I don't know if I'm going to do this next too. That one has really knocked me out of my chair. Yeah. No, I get it. Biggest wipe out I had was I was with Kelly Slater on pipeline. It was like 20 foot waves. And Kelly's like, there's no way you're coming out there. You're crazy. And as I started to try and paddle in, I got sucked into this, the kill zone basically. So I get sucked into it and I turn around and I see these, this set of like four waves coming. And that's for me was like, it's over. It's all over. As I threw my board, I dove down, I grabbed the reef and I could hear this wave crash behind me. My board got ripped off and snapped in half. Came back up, obviously gasping for air. And the next one was coming. So back down, grab, grab the reef again. It's another wave comes over. So I did that three times. I got up, I was like, I nearly ran out of air, nearly drowned, but managed to swim back from there. But after that, I was like, okay, massive props to these surfers. Oh, wow. Oh my God. These, holy shit. I know. Oh God. I don't even want to touch my eyes. Yeah. New napkin over there. Yeah. Be careful. Be careful. At least they don't have like crazy names. Some of them like ass explosion. That one's not, you got these in the wrong order. You're right about that. But also don't talk too soon. You know, hot sauce has a way of humbling you. It's like the sauces, they can hear you talking about them and they respond. The trick is not to suck in any air. There you go. What kind of reaction do you get when someone pulls up alongside of you and then sees that it's, you know, Lewis Hamilton behind the wheel next to them? Most people are just like, holy shit. They're not revving their engine at you or anything. I've had people be at traffic light and want to race. Yeah, that's what I think. Yeah. Like, you know, um, and definitely when I was young, like I'd, I've felt like, let's do it. Smoke this today. Um, I guess a lot of, I've had a lot of road rage because I often actually, when I'm not, when I'm just casually driving, I'm not going somewhere for work or anything like that that I'm not really, I'm cruising. And so most people are more in a rush than I am. So I get a lot of road rage. Speed up. I find in America, they're very, quite aggressive. Yeah. Like in LA, I find them quite aggressive. New York is really aggressive. I've never driven here, but probably for the best. Yeah. People are pretty bad here. And then in Switzerland, they're really aggressive in Germany. The German Swiss part, the Germans, the Swiss. Yeah. They're like crazy. The Angelenos and the New Yorkers. Yeah. Is this the last one? This is the last one. Okay. Put some extra on it. Well, you're nuts. See, this is often my issue is I put too much hot sauce on my burrito. And then there you go. That is so good. That's perfect. Not too much sauce on that burrito right there. Cheers. Let's let her run. Should do a full send. This one's not bad. Yeah. Doing a full send. We've hit the checkered flag. I'm so glad I got through that. And I knew you would. There was no reason to duck it all these years. There was no reason to duck it, Lewis. It's starting to clean though. I know. Well, you know what? On that note, on that note, Lewis, we've hit the checkered flag on our Spicy Wing Grand Prix. And to close things out, all I want to do is hit you with some of the F1 terms, some of the F1 slang that I picked up while doing research for this interview, just to see if you can define them for me on our way out. What is blistering? What's blistering? My mouth. Oh, God. What does it mean to lift and coast? It's when you breathe, bro. It hurts. It hurts when I breathe. Lifting coast is a method we use to save fuel. This one's getting hard. Do we go in again? I'm following you wherever you go. All right, Lewis. Should we do the aqua one? We're here, you know? Yeah. We should just send it on us three back. Oh, God. Oh, God. Definitely a mistake. Okay. So lifting coast is basically, it's normally if you would break like around 100 meters. So you're full throttle to 100 meters. But lifting coast is when you come off the gas at a certain distance before 100 meters. What are marbles? Marbles are like from all the bits of the tire that fly off and debris from the tires. So over the race, more and more marbles are over the track. How are you struggling more than me? Or are you a good actor? No, I'm not a good actor. I'm actually a terrible actor. I'm sweating. Honestly, it's so hot. But you know, it's just the weight of the wings and it's the weight of the moment, Lewis. You know what I mean? Taking on this spicy journey with you, which has not only been a fascinating and interesting ride, but also an emotional one. You know, and I'm just letting some of that out right now. I'm just crying, it has nothing to do with the wings. Next time, we're gonna start here. And we're gonna have to ramp it up from there onwards. We'll find the devil's anus. Yes. We'll find Satan's snot. Yes. We will find them all. Up Satan's alley. This camera, this camera, this camera, let the people know what you have going on in your life. Oh, I feel great. I'm so happy that I made it through. I'm not dead. Honestly, I didn't think I was gonna make it. But so thank you so much for having me. And thank you, everyone in this room for having me. It's, you know, keep doing what you're doing. It's so great. Bring so much joy to people's lives by doing this show. So I hope I get to come back. Decent. Yeah, I'm so glad. Well, firstly, to meet you, you know, like a big fan of yours, as I said, so really great to meet you. And I would love to do it again. I could start over again with you still go. Hey, what's going on hot ones fans. This is a very special announcement for the heat heads out there. If you're someone who needs a little spice in your life, then the hot ones monthly subscription box from heatness is for you. This monthly delivery from heatness features a trio of saucy surprises each month. You can always count on a fresh assortment and be the first to try new hot one sauces. By now you know the drill heatness.com heatness.com to get your hands on the hot ones monthly subscription box. Get it for yourself or get it for a friend. Trust us. You don't want to go another month without it.