Lewis Hamilton reveals he nearly drowned while surfing and thought “it’s all over”

Mercedes F1 driver Lewis Hamilton has revealed he had a near-death experience while surfing.

Speaking in an appearance on the ‘Hot Ones’ show with with Sean Evans, the seven-time world champion was asked a series of questions as he tackled the challenge of tasting several hot sauces on vegan chicken wings.

Hamilton, who enjoys surfing as one of his many adrenaline-filled hobbies when he is away from the F1 circuit, recalled the time he nearly drowned while hitting the waves with surfing legend Kelly Slater off the coast of Hawaii in 2021.

"It was 20-foot waves and Kelly was like, 'There's no way you're coming out there’,” Hamilton explained.

“As I started to try to paddle in, I got sucked into the kill zone. I turn around and I see this set of four waves coming. That for me was like, ’It's over, it's all over’.

“I threw my board, I dove down and grabbed the reef and I could hear this wave crash above me. My board got ripped off and snapped in half.

“I came back up gasping for air but the next one was coming so I went back down. I did that three times and I nearly ran out of air, I nearly drowned.

“After that I was like ‘ok, massive props to these surfers’.”

The 39-year-old Briton first tried surfing in 2014 and has become obsessed with the sport ever since.

Speaking about his love of surfing with professional surfer Kai Lenny in 2019, Hamilton said: ”The amount of surfing I've been watching this year is crazy. Every single day, I'm online watching surfing - anything I can get.

“Surfing is the best feeling ever. I'm so happy here. I can't tell you how much I love surfing. When you get up, there's just no other feeling like it."