I don't think you can fully call yourself a vegan if you wear leathers.
— Lewis Hamilton
My dad wanted me to have a better life than he had ever had. He wanted us to succeed so badly. And I never wanted to let him down.
Everyone has complicated lives, but the more you can simplify it and make it work for you, the better it is going to be.
I listen to music before every race. Generally, there will be a song I'll get into over the weekend, and I play it all weekend, particularly when I'm getting ready for a race.
When I was a kid, I used to play a game called 'Grand Prix Two.' Interlagos was always the first race of the season on that, and I never really got much past the second race. I would always restart the season, so I always seemed to be doing Interlagos - it was a real pain!
When I was really young, I busted my nose when I was racing. The first thing my dad asked me was: 'Are you OK?' I said, 'Can you fix the car for tomorrow?' And I won the race the next day.
You save most fuel by lifting and coasting in the heavy braking zones at the end of long straights into slow corners.
I am a motorbike fanatic - always have been. It's actually what I wanted to do before I got into motor racing.
I usually sleep four or five hours, but when you are training, you need more than that.
I started watching Formula 1 with my dad when I was just four or five years old. I loved cars.
I get kids from all different cultures and nationalities coming up to me now, all wanting to be F1 drivers. They feel the sport is open to everyone.
Formula 1 is about running to the maximum.
Fashion is a growing love that probably started when I got into my 20s.
I have always wanted to learn the piano, but because I travel so much, I can never get any consistency of lessons. So everywhere I go, if I can find a piano, even if it is in the lobby of a hotel or something, I go on YouTube and pick some songs to learn.
As a driver, you've always got to believe in your heart that you've got what it takes to win it. You've always got to believe in yourself. You've always got to arrive on the day and believe it can happen. You've always got to believe in the positives.
I think every single win, every single pole has felt new and different in its own way. I've not got bored of it.
When you get out of the car after the feeling that you have after leading the race, and the car fails, it's pretty hard to say positive things all the time.
I hate losing. It doesn't matter if it's racing or playing Ping-Pong - I hate it.
I'm willing to take any amount of pain to win.
When I'm driving, the fewer distractions there are, the better it is to focus on the job in hand.
I love all of the Marvel comics movies.
I have spent a lot of time in Italy throughout my career - especially when I was karting, because it's kind of the world centre of that sport - and I love it.
Since I started driving in F1 in 2006-07, the cars have got slower and easier to drive.
Despite the name, 'lift and coast' does not mean cruising. You're trying to be as fast as you can, and you're still going through the corner on the limit, but you have to approach the corner slightly differently; otherwise, you won't make the end of the race.
People might not know, but F1 drivers have new helmets made throughout the season. Usually, the design is the same, but I like to do something special for Monaco.
Ayrton Senna was an incredible legend who will be remembered and admired forever.
Everyone loves a winner. That's just how the world is. And Ayrton Senna was one of the greatest winners this sport has ever had.
It's a pretty cool feeling to be the person to knock down a barrier - just like the Williams sisters did in tennis or Tiger Woods in golf.
Tupac is my favorite artist, and he had mad style.
I think my style is definitely urban chic. I love mixing street style with the high-end luxury brands, like Gucci, for example. Quite fun.
Number one is a great thing, and I'll always know that I'm number one, but 44 is my favourite number, so I want to keep it on the car.
Each championship has felt different in its own way, I guess because I've been in different place of my life; I've gone through different things.
You can knock me down, but I get up twice as strong.
Every person I have met who has gone vegan says it is the best decision they have ever made.
I feel like people are expecting me to fail; therefore, I expect myself to win.
Working with kids is something I really enjoy doing - that's why I also do work with UNICEF.
Whether it's with my engineers in the team, my home life, or my friends, I don't like things to get complicated - and one good example would be the steering wheel in my Mercedes Formula 1 car.
My daily breakfast is two poached eggs in the morning with half an avocado, and I get to have half a piece of toast.
Sometimes it takes time to find people in the sport who share the same opinions and approach to racing as me.
All in all, racing with lift and coast is actually harder.
When I was a kid and Christmas was coming up, my dad would ask me what I wanted, and I always said a motorbike. I kept asking for one, and he said it was too dangerous and bought me a go-kart instead.
When you're driving on a normal track, you can see the braking point from 500 m. away.
People say I have an aggressive style, and sometimes I don't think that is all just me. I think it's partly because I watched Senna when I was young, and I thought, 'This is how I want to drive when I get the opportunity.'
My immediate family are from the West Indies - from Trinidad and Grenada - and I have relatives all over the Caribbean.
When I first started in Formula 1, I tried to ignore the fact I was the first black guy ever to race in the sport. But, as I've got older, I've really started to appreciate the implications.
When I was younger, all of my family's money went into racing. We were never a stylish family. We never went shopping, because all the money went into buying tires and fuel and all of that.
Music's been a huge passion of mine since I was really young. I started playing guitar when I was thirteen.
The Hamilton name will live on way beyond me now, which I'm very happy to be a part of.
Every lap is different.
There are times when you are growing through experiences, but sometimes there is a point of diminishing returns in terms of growth.
