It’s hard to believe we’re just one week away from kicking off the 2025 Formula 1 season. It feels like yesterday I was griping about the absence of racing, and now even IndyCar, MotoGP, and WEC have held their maiden contests for the season. Despite showing off its new kit and drivers at the F1 75 event last month, Ferrari has been busy putting on promo events ahead of the Australian GP. Yesterday, it threw a huge party on the streets of Milan, where Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton drifted their cars for the adoring Tifosi. But there was a little snafu by Hamilton that caught my attention.
While stepping out of his car (an older, decommissioned model), Hamilton stood on the front fairing to look up and wave at the screaming fans. After a second or two, he decided to jump off the car and let the crew take over the machine. As drivers usually do, they use one of the front tires as a stepping stone to avoid falling on one of the fragile aero elements around the sidepods. This time, though, the front end of the car had already been jacked up, which meant the front tire could rotate. Watch it on the video below.
When Hamilton put his right foot on the tire, it spun forward and caused him to lose his balance. Luckily, and I mean luckily, instead of falling to his left or right, he just graciously fell straight down and his butt landed on top of the tire. Had his upper body leaned to either side, it could’ve made him fall shoulder-first into the ground or side of the car. Losing his footing could’ve also led to an ankle fracture or nasty sprain, either of which would’ve taken a long time to heal.
Instead, the seven-time champ shrugged off the little mishap and carried on like nothing happened.
Oddly enough, this wasn’t the first time this month Hamilton had a little tumble. During pre-season testing, he jumped off a moving golf cart on his way to the paddock and nearly fell on the ground.
While these falls may look insignificant, let’s not forget that drivers have had to sit out races—even season kick-off races—due to silly things like falling off bikes, rollerblading, tripping up the stairs, and other little mishaps.
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