As the face of Formula 1, Lewis Hamilton is always looking for ways to push the sport forward and expose it to as many people as possible.
Ahead of the 2023 F1 season’s penultimate race in Las Vegas (the first time the sport has been to Sin City in over 40 years), Hamilton, a seven-time World Champion, is busy living out every gamer’s dream—partnering with Epic Games and Fortnite to become a part of its icon series.
Joining the likes of LeBron James, Ninja, Travis Scott, and many more, Lewis Hamilton will soon have a duo of his own cosmetic skins in Fortnite along with a custom glider and back bling of his dog, Roscoe. One skin features Hamilton in an electric pink and yellow outfit, resemblant of something the sport’s most stylish driver would wear on his way to the track, and the other is essentially a superhero.
“Black Panther is really so iconic,” Hamilton tells Complex. “And so that's really where I took a lot of the inspiration with the direction we went here.”
It is no secret that F1 has become more popular since Netflix launched the hit series Drive to Survive in 2019. The show pulled back the curtain on a sport that the vast majority of the American population is unfamiliar with, an audience that Hamilton has made clear is crucial to the continued growth of F1. It’s collaborations like Hamilton’s with Fortnite, and ASAP Rocky’s apparel capsule with Puma, that will continue bringing Formula 1 into the spotlight.
“To be able to pull in creatives, and particularly be able to pull in pop culture, I think it’s really an important way for the sport to grow,” Hamilton says.
Hamilton’s Fortnite capsule will be available in the item shop on Friday, Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. ET. Before the release, we caught up with Hamilton to talk working with Epic Games, the inspiration behind the design, Formula 1’s continued growth in the United States, and more.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
What has it been like working with Epic Games and Fortnite to design your own skin in the game?
Lewis Hamilton: It's been so much fun. I've always been a gamer, since I was very young. I think for every kid growing up, and probably even for every adult that plays games today, the dream and the thought of ever being in the game is so far-fetched. I've been playing Fortnite for years with my friends.
It's the one way we can keep in touch, you know, because I've got friends all over the world. And so when I'm traveling, this is the way we would have conversations and just hang out. And so to finally have that, to have my own character now in the actual Fortnite game, it's so cool.
I feel really honored and really grateful for the team. And the filming we did for the video was a lot of fun, mirrors everywhere. It was an interesting experience; as you know, I'm having to kind of act. But it came out great.
Have you been able to play OG Fortnite? How great is it to be able to be back on the old map?
LH: Yeah, of course. The original map is always going to be the favorite, right? I've always struggled with building. I'm just so bad still at building, no matter how many hours I put in. But yeah, I let my friends build and I do the killing.
Your suit seems to be very much superhero inspired. Did you take cues from that world when designing your collection?
LH: Growing up, Superman was my favorite superhero. However, he didn't look like me. So it wasn't until Chadwick [Boseman], and Black Panther is really so iconic. And so that's really where I took a lot of the inspiration with the direction we went here. But like, when I'm in the race car and I put my helmet on, it always felt a bit like putting on your super suit and having a superpower.
How hands-on were you with the actual design of your collection?
LH: I'm hands-on with everything that I get involved in. It's really a collaboration. So we were mostly on Zooms because I'm traveling so much, and coming up with which direction we wanted to go. I was like, “We got to have Roscoe in the game.” And so he's on the surfboard that you can have, and he's kind of my sidekick in real life and now also in the game. I wanted it to be athletic but also futuristic.
What do you think your reaction is going to be the first time you drop into a map and you're going up against a guy that's dressed as Lewis Hamilton?
LH: It's going to be really emotional. Firstly, jumping in on my own, just very surreal. But just seeing how, you know, it's been a real positive response to my fan base. They've been incredibly supportive over the years. For those that do play the game, hopefully they get to enjoy this character. I'm sure particularly because of Roscoe.
A lot of times games have a super-high peak where everybody's playing, but they eventually fall off. Fortnite has been able to largely withstand that. Why do you think that is?
LH: I think it's just so user friendly and it's such a social thing. When people come home from work, it's something they get to play; they don't have to go out, and they can still hang out with their friends. It's a lot of fun. I'm always surprised by the fact that it's lived on so long and people are still loving it today. But of course they're continuously evolving it. They've had LeBron, different characters—they've had so many different icons already a part of this [that] I feel really honored to be amongst those.
Formula 1 and Fortnite are both continuing to cross over more and more into the pop culture space with different partnerships and collaborations. Can you speak to the similarities between the two in the way they try to appeal to a broader audience?
LH: Yeah, they need to. Ultimately it's such a complex sport. It's not that easy to understand fully. It takes time to learn about it. And even some people who have known it for 20-plus years are still learning about it. There are so many intricacies of what we do that are pretty fascinating, but it's all tech led, and just continuously engaging with a new audience [is important]. And once you catch them, I think then they're hooked. That's what I've noticed so far. But it's something I grew up with, so I had a love for it really, from like 4 years old. It’s going to be really interesting to see the new generation over the next decade.
As essentially the face of the sport, you’ve been recognized for years and years. But since the beginning of Drive to Survive, how much more have you been recognized, and how much of an impact have you noticed on the rise in popularity for the sport as a whole?
LH: It's been such a game changer for us. I'd be traveling to the U.S., for example, and I couldn't understand why these amazing sports fans for the NBA and NFL never really engaged in Formula 1. I couldn’t understand why they weren't catching on, but of course we only had one race here once a year. So, you know, the excitement, it was difficult to catch on. I think [Drive to Survive] really brought it home for people. It really showed the characters within the sport, which I think is why people are so engaged today. And in terms of being recognized around places, of course it changed everything. But it's really, really positive. People are just excited about it. Luckily we have a race every week or two, so people are just excited to see what's coming up next.
How much of an impact do you think having three races in the U.S. now has had on the sport, and how important is the American audience for F1?
LH: The American audience is huge, and I think it's pivotal for us for the sport to continue to grow. I've always felt like one race here was never enough—we definitely needed more. There’s so many great cities in this country; it’s so vast. I always thought we'd have to have at least two, but the fact that we have three now is amazing. I mean, I'm so excited for this race this weekend. I went round after work last night, and I was driven around the circuit just to see what it looks like. And driving with all the night lights and the casino lights, it's going to be epic. But I think we have a real responsibility also as a sport. When I went to Austin, for example, with Mission 44, I brought 60 young women to the circuit who have never had the opportunity to see what Formula 1 is about.
STEM is so important. So I think whilst providing entertainment, we can also have a really positive impact. And there's a lot of work to do in terms of encouraging the next generation that there's space within our industry for people from all different walks of life. And so that's what I feel like my role is.
You started to answer my next question, but you've always used your platform to give back and speak for people who can't necessarily speak for themselves. How much of a priority is that for you?
LH: For me I think that's number one. Whilst we exist in the sport to win, for me, seeing these young kids coming through who either look like me or just remind me of myself as a youngster; seeing them coming in and their eyes light up, almost opening up Pandora's box for them, you know anything's possible.
I think that for me is one of the most fulfilling things that I've been able to do. So I want to continue to do that and do it bigger and more. If I knew when I was a kid how important STEM was and what it could lead to, I would have done so much better firstly at school because I would have had a direction, and so that’s what we’re hoping to do.
Have you seen ASAP Rocky’s collaboration with Puma and Formula 1? What is it like for you to see someone in that space have a collaboration with F1?
LH: I saw ASAP in Miami earlier this year, and he came to the track and the front of the garage. He was telling me, “I’ve just done something with Puma; I’m going to do this collab.” I think it’s cool; I think Formula 1 and the actual car itself is cool, but it’s full of engineers and not necessarily the most creative people there. To be able to pull in creatives, and particularly be able to pull in pop culture, I think it’s really an important way for the sport to grow. Bringing in creators like Rocky—I think it’s great. I saw just a clip of it on Instagram. And I’ve got +44; I’ve just done my own collab with [Takashi] Murakami.
