LEWIS HAMILTON
The record-breaking F1 driver (and 5G ambassador for Vodafone) tells us about the tech he can’t live without, designing his own watch, and how watching races will change
WHAT PERSONAL TECH DO YOU RELY ON THE MOST WHEN TRAVELLING THE WORLD?
“I need my phone. I can never go anywhere without it. It’s naturally the single most important thing I have. It connects me, it keeps me going… within my business, but also connecting me with my friends and family, which is really difficult otherwise, particularly as I travel as much as I do.
“My headphones. I travel with my Bose [Noise Cancelling Headphones] 700 everywhere I go. Honestly, I listen to music every single day. I don’t know if I could live without that.”
WHAT OTHER TYPES OF TECH DO YOU TRAVEL WITH?
“Otherwise, I travel with a game case. I’ll have a games console – I travel with my PlayStation everywhere – so that when I get back to my hotel, if I’ve got time, I’ll play
Call of Duty online with my friends. One of my friends is in LA, and one’s in Toronto, and one’s [in London] as well. So we just always link up on that.”
CLEARLY YOU LIKE GAMING. DO YOU THINK 5G WILL ACTUALLY IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF MOBILE GAMING?
“Massively. I was playing last night and my home internet went down. So I ended up using my phone. When a phone has
4G, it just has a bit of lag, especially when I’m connected to my friend’s server in California. So I get killed more. They’re so much quicker than some of the people they end up playing with. My friend tells me it’s because of the lag. So that’s always been a big issue with us.
“I remember playing with my brother. We’d play racing cars. We used to always play online racing games, and there was so much lag. We always wanted the fastest internet we could get. To hear this is coming out is going to be a game-changer in terms of how smoothly that runs.”
ARE THERE OTHER ADVANTAGES OF 5G THAT YOU’RE LOOKING FORWARD TO?
“Gaming is definitely the biggest one for me, given that I travel as much as I do. But also, as I’m travelling all the time, the phone is really where it’s at. I’d love to be able to stream movies off my phone… When you’re in the airport and you’re having to wait as long as you do, or if you’re in a hotel – you know, I’d say 92% of hotels usually have crap movies. Or don’t even have movie services.
And I love watching movies. So I think gaming and a higher download speed.
“I remember being on – I know it keeps going back to flying – but I’ve been on a flight trying to download a movie to my iPad just as it’s taking off, and it’s stopped with 10MB to go or something like that. Then I’m on a 12-hour flight without a movie, which is frustrating. So I guess it’s the connectivity, and everything being faster. I think people don’t appreciate just how much happier [5G] is going to make them. It’s going to become the norm.” IF YOU WERE GOING TO DO A WILL.I.AM AND CREATE YOUR OWN TECH COMPANY, WHAT KIND OF THING WOULD YOU MAKE?
“A technology company? Everything’s already been pretty much created. The easy thing for me would be to build a car, or design a car. I know everything there is for that. But how do you make a car that’s sustainable? How can you make it reliable? And also, a different kind of battery tech.
“So battery technology is probably key right now. I think whoever gets that right is going to be the king. Battery technology is something they’re continuously working on, and it’s quite damaging, the process of making these batteries still.
“If I had the money, and I had the backing, and if I found the most intelligent people, I think it’d be that. On the one hand, what I’m most interested in is naturally making a car that looks cool and is, you know, the most efficient car around.”
SPEAKING OF LOOKING COOL, WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE WATCHES AT THE MOMENT?
“So I actually partnered with [Swiss watchmaker] IWC, and I have a watch that’s just about to come out. It’s taken a long time to develop. I’m massively into watches. My first watch was like a Mickey Mouse watch from, I think, Disneyland. And then I had calculator watches when I was at school.
“What’s kind of crazy is that timing is what I’m chasing in my job. I’m chasing time, so it’s quite a cool synergy. I think it’s the ultimate accessory for an athlete, you know? That’s why I have a few watches.”
HOW INVOLVED WERE YOU IN THE OVERALL DESIGN PROCESS FOR THAT WATCH?
“Basically, to design a watch from scratch takes a long time. There’s up to 500 pieces in there, for these watches. So they weren’t open to me completely starting from scratch. I had to take one of [the existing designs] that I liked – it’s called the Big Pilot’s Watch – and then I got into the detail of changing the overall look of the watch, and changed the colour of the face. I wasn’t able to change the movement, but in some of the backing I was able to alter the weighting for the charging and that kind of stuff.
“Generally, when I’m getting involved in projects, I like to get as heavily involved as I can, so I can learn. It’s super-easy to come in and they just say, ‘Here it is. Smile with it.’ But I really enjoy the whole collaboration. Working with a watch engineer is different to working with a race engineer. And that’s been quite an interesting experience. It’s beautiful. I look forward to you seeing it.” YOU OBVIOUSLY LOVE FASHION, AND EVEN HAVE YOUR OWN LINE WITH TOMMY HILFIGER. WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE SNEAKERS RIGHT NOW?
“I grew up on Timberlands, but sneakerwise, as a kid, it was Jordans, which I have a collection of. I’m still a fan of Michael in general, as an athlete. He was just a legend. When I’m training, I only ever train with my Pumas, particularly for running.
“Otherwise, the ones I wear most of the time, I really focus quite a lot on the ones I made with Tommy. They’re sustainable, which I really love. It’s something that’s quite a priority for me right now – really focusing on how I can help that.
“So with my whole collection, I’m pushing towards being 100% sustainable. So, no leather. I’m not using any fur, for example. It’s all recycled down, and no plastic. The trainer that came out in the last collection is probably the most comfortable trainer I currently have. And it’s got a little extra height in it as well, which is always good when you’re running around.” YOU’RE BIG INTO SUSTAINABILITY. WITH CARS, THIS IS BECOMING EVER MORE RELEVANT. DO YOU OWN AN ELECTRIC CAR? AND IF SO,
“I THINK THAT WHOEVER GETS BATTERY TECHNOLOGY RIGHT IS GOING TO BE KING”
“YOU COULD ACTUALLY RACE ME IN THE RACE, BUT VIRTUALLY FROM HOME”
WHAT IS YOUR OPINION ON THIS SPECIFIC TECHNOLOGY?
“I have an electric Smart, which is a practical version of it. It’s fucking amazing. I’ve literally just ordered a new one. It’s super nippy. It’s easy to park anywhere.
“I’m just waiting for more cars to be available with that kind of battery technology. I’ve not driven a Tesla, for example, but I know that Mercedes is coming out with some new cars. And next year, for example, I think the Maybach will have a hybrid engine.
“But I like the full electric. So there’s a new EQC that Mercedes have just brought out, which I’m waiting for delivery for. So that’s going to be here in the UK, replacing the car that I usually use here.”
DO YOU EVER EXPERIENCE ANY ‘DISTANCE ANXIETY’ WHEN YOU ARE DRIVING ELECTRIC CARS?
“I’m staying at hotels all the time, so [the challenge] is finding an outlet to charge overnight. But currently, where I live in Monaco, where I currently charge it, it’s just in my garage. So to park it and plug it in is super-easy.
“And then, yeah, I think it’s becoming more and more common. People are starting to install those at home regularly. I’ve actually bought a new place in the States. It had one of those charging ports, so I need to get an electric car there now.”
WHAT’S THE ONE PRODUCT IN YOUR HOME ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM THAT YOU CAN’T ACTUALLY LIVE WITHOUT?
“In my home entertainment system? Well, I mean, I watch a lot of movies, so I can’t live without the TV. Watching Netflix on that.
But then probably my sound system, I think. I stick it on a laptop and play music.”
YOU GO FOR THE WHOLE HOME CINEMA SETUP?
“Yeah. And I’ve got a piano. Those are my most valuable things.”
OF COURSE, YOU’RE PRETTY MUSICALLY INCLINED. TELL US ABOUT THAT…
“Yeah. I just love playing. Well, trying to play, and learning new songs. That keeps me super-entertained.”
HOW DO YOU THINK NEW TECH, SUCH AS 5G, WILL CHANGE HOW WE WATCH LIVE SPORT?
“I’ve always imagined… I remember I used to play this [racing] computer game when I was younger on the PC, with a massive monitor. I remember I would go down and watch the start of a real race, and then I’d go back up. And often, I’d start that race.
“You could do the full hour-and-a-half race distance in this game. Not connected to the real team, but it was on a game, Formula 1. And I imagine the future being some sort of virtual reality. You could sit and watch the Grand Prix, and pull your visor down or your headset down, and you could immerse yourself in the actual race that I’m doing. You can actually be in the race.
“I imagine with faster technology, that’s something that’s going to come around in the future – especially with gaming. So you can actually race me in the race, but virtually, from your home.”