Hamilton's brother opens up on gambling addiction: 'I was stuck'

Lewis Hamilton's half-brother Nicolas, in his book 'Now I Have Your Attention', has told of an 'all-consuming' gambling addiction that sent him into depression in 2017. Meanwhile, the brother of the seven-time Formula One world champion is doing much better now and is 'relieved' that this difficult period in his life is behind him.

Nicolas' addiction reached its lowest point in 2017 whilst his brother was winning World Championships for Mercedes. He reportedly gambled away thousands of pounds. "I wanted more of the winnings - and the losing didn't really deter me. It just got me in a cycle. I couldn't stop thinking about it - I just wanted to go back to my computer," he said.

In fact, it got so bad at one point that he was forced to sell his Mercedes C63, which he had received as a gift from Lewis. "I felt so ashamed, using this amazing gift to pay my tax bill. It felt like I had practically stolen the money from my brother and I have never forgiven myself for that."

Eventually, the continuous downward spiral even led Nicholas to suicidal thoughts. "It destroyed me. I got a real wake-up call. I had no way of going forward because I'd lost everything. I was stuck. I had a balcony at my flat and I was thinking what would I do if I just jumped off it," he recounts.

Nicholas was born two months prematurely, damaging parts of his brain and affecting muscle growth. But that did not stop him from pursuing his dream. He has competed in the British Touring Car Championship.