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EXCLUSIVE - Superstitions: F1 drivers share their secrets

F1. Formula 1 drivers often have rituals that they practice before a race to feel more confident. Do they really believe in superstitions? Motors Inside went to ask them this question in the paddock of the Canadian Grand Prix.

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Lewis Hamilton used to have a lucky chestnut.
© Motors Inside / Maeva Burillo / Lewis Hamilton used to have a lucky chestnut.

Superstition. Definition: The belief that certain actions, certain signs mysteriously lead to good or bad consequences. » High-level athletes have only one goal, all the same: to win!

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They are only twenty on the planet to race 24 Sundays a year on a Formula 1 circuit. The creme de la creme. At this level, talent is no longer a question, they all have it. What will make the difference? Obviously their single-seater and the hard work of the best engineers and mechanics but also, perhaps, a little bit of luck. Not to mention the dangerousness of their sport which adds an exceptional character to it.

Lucky underwear, ritual... We wanted to know if some drivers had their little lucky charm habit. So, microphone in hand, we went exploring the paddock in search of answers.

Lewis Hamilton's chestnut

The one currently competing in his 17th F1 season was, at the beginning, a follower of superstitions. While this has disappeared with experience, he reveals to us a rather original anecdote.

« I am no longer superstitious now, but that was the case until I was 18 or 19 years old. I had a lucky chestnut. Somehow, I would put it in my suit, like Sanka put the lucky egg in Cool Runnings. And I don't know how, but it disappeared during a race. The lucky underwear too. My mother shrunk them. And then I think there is a certain routine, if you look at tennis players, when they bounce the ball several times, or if you enter the car from one side or put your right sock on first. You know, it's the routine that we normally follow. I missed one of these routines and I crashed. It was during a race in Germany when I was in Formula 3, and I said to myself that after that, no more superstitions, shares the seven-time world champion.

He is not the only one to have attached particular importance to his underwear. The Montreal native, Lance Stroll, used to take good care of them at the beginning.

« Back when I was into karting, I used to religiously wash my underwear every night and make sure they went into the laundry. And if I was really desperate, there were times when they didn't make it to the wash! But no, after many years, those things fade away. And the underwear became a bit small over the years, so I had to let them go!

On the French side, Pierre Gasly has added a more spiritual ritual to his routine without considering himself superstitious. « I think it's just routine. Routine stuff. My warm-up, and yes, there is something, I pray before getting in the car, and that's the most important thing for me », he assures us.

Those for whom luck cannot be forced

There are then those who do not believe in superstitions. For them, no question that a little habit can bring them luck or not.

« I have no superstition. Sorry, that's a boring answer! I think we all have a certain routine before getting in the car. I like getting in the car from the left, but only because I find it more comfortable than getting in from the right. So, if I have to get in on the other side of the car, I do it », declared Oscar Piastri. Same goes for his McLaren garage neighbor, Lando Norris, who even finds it a bit ridiculous. « I don't have any. I never had any. I've never believed in that stuff . You're lucky or you're not, and that's life. I do things as I feel in the moment and that's it. »

Finally, Sergio Perez joins the club of those who have no intention of leaving their fate in the hands of a little quirk. « I don't have one, but I really like Fernando [Alonso]'s habit of avoiding certain people before getting in the car! For some cameras, I would. But no, I like to keep things simple. »

Although superstitions may seem useless to some, with the technical efficiency and concentration required to drive a high-speed single-seater, they are above all a way to cope with adrenaline and pressure. And who knows? Maybe these rituals can actually bring good luck to the drivers!

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