Lewis Hamilton has admitted to peeing in his Formula 1 car, after previously admitting to Ellen DeGeneres that he ‘couldn’t do it’.
F1 drivers are known to need to relieve themselves during races as they consume enormous amounts of fluid before getting into their cars.
A full bladder can be both uncomfortable and dangerous, due to the enormous G-forces drivers experience as they weave their way around race tracks.
Hamilton also once revealed that his mechanics told him that legendary F1 driver Michael Schumacher peed ‘every time he was in the car’.
But he also admitted at the time that he had never done it and thought he would never get behind the wheel.
Lewis Hamilton has admitted to urinating in his Formula 1 car in Singapore recently
Drivers must relieve themselves during races after consuming large amounts of fluid
However, during his appearance on Hot Wings released Thursday, Hamilton admitted that he got wet in Singapore “two or three years ago.”
Singapore is widely regarded as the most physically demanding race on the F1 calendar due to its brutal humidity and tropical climate.
That’s why drivers stock up on fluids to keep themselves hydrated all the time and it’s no wonder Hamilton had to relieve himself.
Asked about how a driver’s weight can affect performance, Hamilton said: ‘Basically, 10 kilograms is usually worth 0.25 or 0.3 seconds. So if you put 10 kilos or 22 pounds of fuel into the car, you’ll just go slower.
‘There was one race where I was a kilo heavier, so over a whole race distance it’s about 1.8 seconds (slower) or something like that.
‘We do have a tube of drinks in the car, but I never drink in the car. I usually just forget. So I usually have that weight taken out – it’s usually only 500 milliliters.
‘As far as I know, quite a few motorists pee in their cars. I used to drink a lot. Right before I get in the car, I go as often as possible until the last minute, but I just can’t bring myself to pee myself.
‘I had it once. It was Singapore, oh god, and it was two or three years ago. The safety car came out and I was behind it and I thought ‘I’m going to die’. Honestly, when your bladder is full with the G-force pulling you, it’s really, really uncomfortable.
“You just can’t concentrate on your work, so I remember trying to go and really having to force it. It is very difficult. But luckily I didn’t have to do it, just once.’
Hamilton said in an interview with Ellen in 2016 that he had never defecated in his car
Daniel Riccardo says the drivers are desperate to get out and use the toilets after the race
During an appearance on Ellen in 2016, Hamilton said that he had never defecated in his car.
He said, ‘You should go in your suit, but I can’t. I have never yet done it. But there are drivers who do.
‘The driver who used to drive for the team was Michael Schumacher. “I don’t know if anyone has heard of him, just a legendary driver, but my mechanics told me he peed every time he was in the car.”
Australian driver Daniel Riccardo, currently with RB, was also asked about it by Ellen.
He said, ‘I’ve never done it before. If you have to, you hold on painfully until the end, but every bump, every step you encounter hurts.’
Riccardo added before the 2021 Portuguese Grand Prix: ‘When you have to go, it just stings.
‘I heard some are gone [during a race], for. That was not done. I could not do it. You know, you’re so tense, it’s just hard to cope.
“That’s why, when we get on the grid, all of us stand out. We’re not going to go, I don’t know, look at Facebook or Instagram or something, we’re going to go to the bathroom and try not to get into that predicament during the race.”