Lewis Hamilton loves the Tokyo car scene, and he’s gotten in the habit of putting out a “video edit” of his vehicular shenanigans when in town for the Japanese Grand Prix. In previous years, he’s made headlines for hooning a rented R34 Skyline GT-R around Tokyo, ripping donuts and drifts every chance he could. Surprise(!), the owners weren’t thrilled.
While the GT-R is certainly a cool car, it doesn’t quite stack up to his ride of choice this year: a Ferrari F40.
The seven-time Formula 1 champ worked with his regular private photographer, 13thwitness, and friend of The Drive, Larry Chen, to produce the roughly minute-long clip and treasure trove of photos. Originally, Chen’s Instagram post included some photos showing Hamilton’s alleged new girlfriend, Kim Kardashian, though those slides have since been deleted. The video, however, zooms in on her face at the very end, as if to make some sort of point that she’s been the mysterious passenger throughout the joyride.
The video itself is sweet, with the cadence of the clips and the beat of the music making for a high-energy daydream of sorts. If you dig the soundtrack, the song is called Victory Lap by Fred Again feat. Skepta and PlaqueBoyMax. Like, I can imagine dozing off at my desk while typing away, only for my brain to concoct a fantasy of me drifting through Tokyo in a red F40 with my boo riding shotgun. I mean, who wouldn’t want to do that?
In all seriousness, it’s great when F1 drivers let loose and have fun the way most car enthusiasts would—or at least how they would if they had nearly unlimited funds. The pressure of being an F1 driver is unreal, so whether it’s Hamilton hustling around Tokyo, Max Verstappen racing GT3 cars at the Nurburgring, or Fernando Alonso ditching his Valkyrie because it broke down while cruising around Monaco, I love seeing their enthusiasm and humanity (and privilege).
Got a tip? Email us at tips@thedrive.com