Nicolas Hamilton: Beyond Being Lewis' Brother & My Fight to Be Seen For Who I am (E369)
The High Performance Podcast
High Performance
4.8 • 4.7K Ratings
🗓️ 8 September 2025
⏱️ 72 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Nicolas Hamilton is a British racing driver who has defied the odds to make his mark in motorsport while living with cerebral palsy. As the younger brother of Lewis Hamilton, the most successful F1 driver of all time, Nicolas has grown up around elite performance, but his own journey has been filled with challenges, setbacks, and powerful lessons about determination and self-belief.
In this episode, Jake sits down with Nicolas to explore the unseen struggles that shaped him, from feeling isolated at school to dealing with the pressure of growing up in the shadow of a world champion. Nicolas talks openly about the influence of Lewis’s mindset, the inspiration it gave him, and the unique bond they share as brothers.
He also discusses the battles many never see: the mask of happiness he wore while struggling with mental health, the expectations that weighed heavily on him, and the process of learning to be honest about his own story. Alongside this, Nicolas shares the physical demands of competing in racing and the determination that helped him achieve what once seemed impossible.
This episode offers an inspiring conversation about family, ambition, and the importance of owning your truth.
Need Support?
Samaritans: Call 116 123 or visit samaritans.org
Mental Health Mates: mentalhealthmates.co.uk
Shout: https:giveusashout.org
IAPT: https://www.england.nhs.uk/mental-health/adults/nhs-talking-therapies
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | So when I did fall over, my dad didn't come and help. |
| 0:05.0 | My mum didn't come and help. |
| 0:06.0 | And yeah, I'm so grateful for the way they brought me up. |
| 0:09.0 | You know, I just gambled all day. |
| 0:11.0 | And I lost thousands, thousands and thousands. |
| 0:14.0 | I spoke to the Samaritans. |
| 0:15.0 | I felt like they saved my life at that point. |
| 0:18.0 | I put my helmet on, standing in the garage to get into my British touring car, |
| 0:21.4 | and I can't believe that I'm physically able to do that, and not just physically able to do that, |
| 0:26.3 | but physically able to compete and compete really well. That is the voice of Nick Hamilton, |
| 0:32.2 | inspirational speaker, brother to seven-time Formula One world champion, Lewis Hamilton, but also a person in his own |
| 0:39.2 | rights, a racing driver, and not only that, a racing driver born with cerebral palsy. |
| 0:45.1 | But today's conversation is not about what he's done. It's about how he's managed to do it. |
| 0:50.5 | It's not a conversation about comparison. That's happened to Nick too many times over the |
| 0:54.3 | years. This is a conversation about the man himself, a man's journey to find self-worth, independence, |
| 1:01.0 | his own voice, and of course the strength mentally and physically to live life on his own terms. |
| 1:07.5 | This was a really important episode for me. I've known Nick for well over a decade. In fact, |
| 1:11.9 | almost 20 years, but the things that he talks about, I had no idea about, because he's going to |
| 1:16.7 | take us into the tough love childhood that shaped him. We're falling over, didn't mean being picked |
| 1:21.7 | up. It meant getting up yourself. And the strength that came from having to figure it out |
| 1:26.8 | sometimes alone. Nick also opens up |
| 1:30.0 | about growing up being known only as Lewis Hamilton's brother, how he managed to find his own value, |
... |
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