Hamilton afraid of getting sick: 'Have been through that twice already'

Lewis Hamilton is one of the few people still walking around the Formula 1 paddock wearing a face mask. At the press conference, the seven-time world champion is asked why he chooses to do so.

In 2020, the world was rocked by the coronavirus and, although it has not completely disappeared, most of the measures taken to combat it have. Face masks are no longer needed in most places. Also not in the F1 paddock, but Hamilton still faithfully wears his.

Hamilton and his mask

Asked why he does this, it appears to be a personal choice. ''I just noticed a lot of people around me are getting sick and definitely don't want to get sick again. I've already experienced it twice. But just I notice a lot of people around me, a lot of my friends messaging me that they've got COVID and some of them are much worse than others," Hamilton said after the Austrian Grand Prix.

However Hamilton also sees that others do not wear a mask anymore. ''No one's wearing a mask so I'm definitely wearing my mask. I urge people to do what they want to do and it's your health at the end of the day. But yeah, I want to go home healthy. I want to be able to get up and train and do the things I love doing. And I try, if I can, to keep the people that I love around me also safe when I can, when I'm around them,'' concludes the Mercedes driver.