Lewis Hamilton has admitted he has urinated in his Formula One car after previously admitting to Ellen DeGeneres he ‘can’t do it’.
F1 drivers, famously, have to relieve themselves during races because they consume huge amounts of liquid before getting into their cars.
A full bladder can be uncomfortable, as well as dangerous, because of the huge G-forces experienced by drivers as they navigate their way around circuits.
Hamilton also once revealed his mechanics told him legendary F1 driver Michael Schumacher ‘peed every single time he was in the car’.
But he also admitted at the time that he had never done it and thought he would never be able to go behind the wheel.
Lewis Hamilton has admitted he has urinated in his Formula One car in Singapore recently
Drivers have to relieve themselves during races after consuming huge amounts of liquid
However, during his appearance on Hot Wings that was released on Thursday, Hamilton admitted he wet himself in Singapore ‘two or three years ago’.
Singapore is widely-regarded as the most physically demanding race on the F1 calendar because of its brutal humidity and tropical climate.
Therefore drivers stock up on liquids to keep themselves hydrated throughout and it is 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 of a second. So if you put 10 kilos or 22 pounds of fuel in the car you’ll just go slower.
‘We do have a drinks tube in the car but I never drink in the car. I just forget most of the time. So I usually have that weight taken out – it’s usually only like 500 milliliters.
‘Quite a lot of drivers, as far as I’m aware, pee in the car. I’ve drunk a lot before. Just before I get in the car I go as many times as possible right up until the last minute but I just can’t bring myself to pee myself.
‘I have once. It was Singapore, oh god, and it was like two or three years ago. The safety car came out and I was behind it and I was like ‘I’m dying’. Honestly, when your bladder is full with the g-force you’re pulling it’s really, really uncomfortable.
‘You just can’t focus on your job so I remember trying to go and I really had to force it. It’s really hard. But luckily I haven’t had to do it – only once.’
Hamilton said in an interview with Ellen back in 2016 he had never relieved himself in his car
Daniel Riccardo says drivers are desperate to get out and head to the toilets after the race
During an appearance on Ellen in 2016, Hamilton said then he had never relieved himself in his car.
He said: ‘You’re supposed to go in your suit, but I can’t do it. I’ve never done it. But there are drivers that do.
‘The driver that used to drive for the team, was Michael Schumacher, I don’t know if anyone’s heard of him, but legend racing driver, but my mechanics told me he peed every single time he was in the car.’
Australian driver Daniel Riccardo, currently at RB, was also asked about it by Ellen.
He said: ‘I’ve never done it. If you have to go, you just painfully hold on until the end, but every bump, every little kerb you hit hurts.’
Riccardo added before the 2021 Portuguese Grand Prix: ‘If you need to go, it just stings.
‘I’ve heard some have gone [during a race], before. One has not. I couldn’t. You know, you’re so tense, it’s just hard to go.
‘That’s why all of us, when we get to the grid, we jump out. We’re not going to like, I don’t know, check out Facebook or Instagram or something, we’re going to use the bathroom and try to be not in that predicament come the race.’
