Lewis Hamilton reveals terrifying near-death experience

Seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton has recounted a harrowing near-death experience while surfing in Hawaii. During an appearance on the show “Hot Ones”, the British pilot detailed his terrible encounter with the famous 20-foot waves of Pipeline, a spot famous for its formidable surfing challenges.

Hamilton was visiting Hawaii to surf with his friend and professional surfer, Kelly Slater, who had initially warned him about the dangerous conditions. Despite caution, Hamilton ventured into the waters, only to find himself trapped in the “death zone”, where four massive waves threatened to overpower him.

Remembering that moment, Hamilton thought, “It's over, it's over,” as the waves crashed relentlessly over him. In a desperate attempt to survive, he abandoned his surfboard and continually dove deeper, even using the reef as an anchor amid the chaotic water. .

Recounting the experience, Hamilton said:

“The biggest wipeout I had was with Kelly Slater on Pipeline. It was like 20 foot waves and Kelly was like 'there's no way you're going to make it there'. You are crazy.'

“I turn around and see this set of four waves coming and that to me was like, 'It's over, it's over.' As I launched my board I dove and caught the reef and I could hear this wave crashing behind me. My board tore and broke in two.

“I came back up, visibly out of breath and the next one was coming back so I caught the reef again as another wave came in. So I did it three times. I got up, I was almost out of air. I almost drowned, but I managed to swim back.

Hamilton is known for his love of thrill-seeking pastimes, including surfing and skydiving. Speaking about the same incident last year, as cited by Marca, Hamilton revealed:

“I thought I was very close to the end. But, for some reason, this excites me.”