Lewis Hamilton reveals near-death experience: "It's all over"

Formula 1 star Lewis Hamilton told the 'Hot Ones' podcast that he suffered a scary surfing experience while at Pipeline.

The 39-year-old Mercedes driver, who has experienced more than a dozen high-speed collisions, was nearly killed after he got sucked into the wave's impact zone.

"I was with Kelly Slater, at Pipeline, it was like 20ft (6m) waves," Hamilton shared on 'Hot Ones'. Although Lewis Hamilton might be regarded as the Slater of F1, what was he doing out at 20ft Pipeline!?

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According to Lewis himself, Kelly told him: "There's no way you're coming out there, you're crazy."

Nevertheless, the British driver strapped on his board and charged towards the line-up. "I tried to paddle out and I got sucked into the 'kill zone', basically. I turned around and saw this set of four waves coming and that to me was like 'It's over, it's all over'," shared Hamilton on the podcast.

The British driver tossed his board and dove down towards the reefs as the waves crashed on his head. "I came back up, obviously gasping for air, and the next one was coming so I went back down and grabbed the reef again. I did that three times and I nearly ran out of air," shared Hamilton.

Pipeline is regarded as one of the world's most dangerous waves due to its sheer ferocity. The Hawaiian wave is an aquatic giant that has claimed dozens of lives. "Let us never forget that Pipeline is a dangerous wave at any size," according to Dave Wassel (North Shore Lifeguard).

During an interview for Stab Magazine, Wassel shared the story of Marcus Bihu - a local bodyboarder and self-proclaimed "barrelholic" - who died after sustaining lethal injuries at Pipeline back in 2019. The wave is not apt for everyone!

Hamilton survived the 'washing machine effect' and made it back to shore safely, but with a newfound respect for surfers!

The truth is that Hamilton is a surfing aficionado and truly enjoys the sport. "The amount of surfing I've been watching this year is crazy, I can't tell you how much I love surfing. When you get up, there's just no other feeling like it," Hamilton told pro surfer Kai Lenny.

Hamilton's Pipeline incident hasn't deterred him from continuing his aquatic passion. According to Express, the British driver was spotted surfing Malibu in 2022 and the shark-infested waters of New South Wales.

The legendary F1 driver might be transitioning into surfing in the future, swapping the tarmac for some neoprene booties. One thing is for sure, he won't be catching much surf in Italy when he joins Ferrari in 2025. Let us know what you think in the comments.

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