Austin Way Magazine - GreenGale Publishing - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/732984
But Hamilton, who watches the NBA and NFL and loves the building excitement over each season, understands the challenges of attracting more American fans to F1, particularly with the races hap- pening at awkward times around the world and only one in the US each year. "You're waiting for them," he says, "which is hard. I know what my emotional state is at 3 am," he jokes. Hamilton also appreciates the high profiles of American star athletes and thinks F1 could learn more about how to better market its drivers. "In racing, we wear a helmet, and it's hard for people to relate to us." B ut you can relate to Hamilton anytime you want through social media. Between Twitter, Snapchat, Facebook, and Instagram, Hamilton has over 10 million followers—and his Mercedes F1 team adds another 13 million who focus on his racing. Back in the day, "I never even contem- plated that people would follow me, send me messages, or gifts or letters," he says. "It powers me through the year when things get rough." And it's a wild iridescent online world he invites us to join. Back-flips into pools in Barbados, holy moments of solitude against city sunrises, backstage moments with hip-hop stars, crystal-blue afternoons on yachts. His posts reflect that modern hybrid of material abun- dance plus maxims about simplicity and grace and achievement. F1 drivers have not been as generous with their private lives as this; Hamilton stands alone. Bobby Epstein, chairman and CEO of Circuit of The Americas, tells us that "Lewis has been an exceptional ambassador for Formula One, raising the profile of the sport to new audiences around the world, while exciting established motorsport fans. As his brand crosses into mainstream recogni- tion, we see increased interest--especially from women--in Austin's own United States Grand Prix." In this way, the global icon is transcending his own country, and his own sport. Social media is sort of a cocoon for him, incubating iterations of Lewis Hamilton, week after week, and he keeps emerging a new butterfly. "I love art, I love fashion shows, music festivals—I love creativity," he puts it simply. He made an album, although whether he'll share it with the public is "up in the air," he says. "I listen to music all day. I can't function too well without it… I love that I can express myself." He's been linked to Kanye West, Jay Z, and Pharrell Williams. "I love to connect with producers and musicians. They pull something out you didn't even know you had in you." He's starred in style magazine spreads and has sat front-row at shows such as Vivienne Westwood and Alexander Wang. His own tattoos are a splendor, from Michelangelo's Pieta on his arm to an African lion on his shoulder and music notes behind his ear. "Powerful Beyond Measure" is written across his chest, credited to the spiritual writer Marianne Williamson: "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure." He also loves women. Paparazzi enjoyed hunting him and his seven-year on-and-off (and off for good, it seems) girlfriend, former Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger. Social media has showed him hanging out with Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, Rita Ora, and Gigi Hadid, and romantic rumors constantly abound. Through the glitter and media mayhem shoots a pathologically precise sportsman. How is that pos- sible—what's less Zen than social media? "To him the world is not a distraction," Mario Andretti told ESPN. "He needs all of life and vast interests to feel fresh and invigorated when he gets back to his job." Hamilton is expanding his world by learning from a mosaic of heroes, like Senna, the saint of F1, and Nelson Mandela, who "was the greatest man… I met him, and I don't know if I even said much." Muhammad Ali is a role model because of his fight- ing soul and advocating of rights. Hamilton says he looked up to Christopher Reeve as Superman and cites Prince as the ultimate hero "in the music space." "If I'm not growing, then what am I doing?" Hamilton asks. "I just feel like every day is an opportunity. If I go through a day without learning something, I'll go online to Wikipedia to look something up." The F1 establishment and its fans relish drama, and yet they go back and forth. Lewis Hamilton is warned to behave but then adored for being larger than life. And now he's returning to Austin, a city that loves the individual, and raises up the rule- breaker. COTA is an interesting outpost of the Formula One culture, which is a global society that has a hard shell of prestige and tradition, and a mol- ten core of transgression. Lining up to see these drivers test mortality under the beautiful Texas sun goes against polite society, and that's rock 'n' roll. October 21–23 at COTA, 9201 Circuit of the Americas Blvd., 512-301-6600; circuitoftheamericas.com . 82 AUSTINWAY.com "It Is amazIng to be back. thIs track enables a real race— and overtakIng." PhotograPhy by Mercedes aMg Petronas ForMula one teaM