Lewis Hamilton reveals why he’s swapped supercars for electric cars

❘ Published: 2020-09-15T15:13:44

YouTube: Mercedes-Benz Österreich

As one of the greatest Formula 1 drivers in recent years, Lewis Hamilton has quite the car collection. However, it now seems that these cars will be forever confined to the garage according to a recent announcement made by Lewis.

This isn’t the first time that the multiple championship-winning F1 driver has announced that he is scaling back on his luxuries. Earlier in 2020, he sold off his personal jet plane in an attempt to offset his carbon footprint.

Citing “environmental reasons” for selling his jet, Hamilton now insists on all airport transfers to-and-from events being in electric-only vehicles to minimize his environmental impact. For a man that races cars for a living, he is certainly far more openly eco-conscious than many of his competitors.

Lewis with his Mercedes-AMG GTR.

Lewis Hamilton’s incredible car collection

Perhaps most surprising is that this desire to minimize his carbon footprint extends to his incredible collection of cars. Being a professional racing driver by trade, Hamilton has an incredible collection of cars sat in his garage.

Ranging from modern-day heroes such as the McLaren P1 and Ferrari LaFerrari to old-school-cool with his 1966 Shelby Cobra 427, he has an eclectic and varied personal garage. Further highlights include a Ferrari 599 Aperta, Pagani Zonda 760, and a Mercedes AMG GTR.

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Now it seems that these cars will be relegated to museum pieces or perhaps even sold, following an announcement from Hamilton at the Mugello Grand Prix.

“I don’t drive any of the cars that I own anymore”

On Thursday, September 10 in the lead up to the Tuscan GP at Mugello, Hamilton told reporters “I don’t drive any of the cars that I own anymore. I only drive my [Mercedes] EQC.”

Lewis also shares an insight into his eco-conscious journey on his Instagram page: “The first step in this journey was to understand my personal impact on the planet so I could make changes to improve it. Since then, I have offset my carbon footprint from my Formula 1 career dating back to 2007.”

View this post on Instagram

Recently I’ve been making many changes in my life to reduce my impact on the environment. The first step in this journey was to understand my personal impact on the planet so I could make changes to improve it. Since then, I have offset my carbon footprint from my Formula 1 career dating back to 2007, I have reduced travel where possible, I have gone plant-based and outside of the track, I try to use electric cars wherever possible. I also want to use my position as a racing driver to enforce positive and permanent change, which is why I’m working closely with Mercedes to slowly move their fleet of cars towards electric. This is my new dream car, the new EQS fully electric Mercedes. I can’t wait until it’s released! It’s difficult to always be perfect when we go about our daily lives, but I’m continuing to learn how to be better and I’m committed to staying educated and informed so I can play my part. Small steps lead to big change, so it’s important we all take a moment to understand our footprint and the small changes we can make in our everyday lives to put our planet first. The last step for me will be when I step away from this sport and can focus fully on helping heal the world to provide a better future for our kids and our kids, kids. #VisionEQS @mercedesbenz

A post shared by Lewis Hamilton (@lewishamilton) on

Launch of Extreme E X44 team

The move to an almost fully-electric lifestyle also coincides with the news that Hamilton will be launching his own team in the new Extreme E off-road racing series. Named X44 after his F1 car number, the Extreme E championship is on track to launch during 2021.

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As a voice of change for many both within F1 and wider pop culture, it will be interesting to see if other high-profile celebrities follow in Hamilton’s footsteps to reduce their environmental impact.

For now, there is no news of his garage being sold off, so hopefully, the collection will live to be seen another day.