Sports & Gaming
At One with the Machine
Lesson time 09:04 min
Lewis puts you in the seat of his car and describes what it feels like to be an F1 driver, emphasizing the importance of his connection with the car and his team to reach peak performance.
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Topics include: Operating at the Highest Level Working With Forces
Teaches a Winning Mindset
World racing champion Lewis Hamilton teaches you how to prepare your mind, body, and spirit for victory in your own life.
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LEWIS HAMILTON: The feeling in the car, it's like when you listen to music, and you hear the sound of the drums, or the beat, or the snare, or the guitar, or the different riffs, or the violin. That's like in the car, all those different bumps and sounds, the gear ratios. The engine screaming, and your heart racing like crazy, you're in tune to all those things. I'm going to take you through what it feels like in a Formula One car in competition, head-to-head with another competitor at 200 miles an hour. So the cockpit of a Formula One car, I like to think it's no different to the cockpit of a fighter jet or the space shuttle that goes to space. There is only one seat. The seat is molded to my body, so only I can fit this seat. The cockpit is my space that I get to control. So I get to decide all the buttons that I have in there. I get to decide the shape of my pedals, the positioning. [ENGINE REVVING] All around you is the radiators, which are running at 100 degrees. So it's very hot in there. We do have a drink in the car. There's a tube that comes out of the helmet, and it starts, they put it, it's basically ice at the beginning. But before the race even starts, it's tea, because it's right behind the seat, most often, and it's surrounded by the engine. It all gets incredibly hot, so it ends up being really warm liquid. So it's not the most refreshing. There's nerves. You're nervous before the race. I've been racing for 28 years. I still have the nervousness before the race, the butterflies in your tummy. [FAST MUSIC] The start of the race has always been different. What's crazy is that no race is ever the same. It's always different. Sometimes it goes good, sometimes it goes bad. Sometimes you don't get around the first corner, sometimes you do. The first lap of every race is always chaotic, no matter from your first race ever to your last race. It's about fast reactions, thinking on the spot, and making the right or wrong choices. And being able to navigate through that mess, and there's all these drivers that you're competing against who want the same thing, or are just as hungry, or challenging you on how hungry you want it. Some of them are really aggressive. [TIRES SQUEALING] There is a zen state or a zone that top athletes get into during the race. That's when everything shuts off, and your senses are heightened. Visibility is wider than normal. Vibrations from the engine, bumps, sounds, depth perception, my pupils must be pretty wide, cause I'm taking in a lot of information. My mind definitely switches to a different capacity, so I'm taking information at a faster rate. So I'm probably using a different part of my brain. So there's cars everywhere. They're in your mirrors, so you can see them, them around you. You can hear them alongside you. [ENGINE SQUEALING] And you're trying to also keep an eye on what's up ahead of you. When you're in go karts, you hav...
About the Instructor
As the winningest Formula 1 driver in the history of the sport, Lewis Hamilton knows what it takes to come out on top. Now, he’s teaching you how to achieve greatness in your own life. Whether you already know your goals or are still trying to figure them out, you’ll learn how to face your fears, turn negatives into positives, and continuously challenge yourself in order to find—and reach—your true potential.
Featured MasterClass Instructor
Lewis Hamilton
World racing champion Lewis Hamilton teaches you how to prepare your mind, body, and spirit for victory in your own life.
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