Lewis Hamilton‘s former mechanic has lifted the lid on an inside joke in the F1 pitlane about his on-off relationship with ex-Pussycat Dolls star Nicole Scherzinger, amid reports the Brit is enjoying the single life again after ending his romance with Sofia Vergara.
Hamilton, 40, and Scherzinger, 46, started dating in 2007, but went their separate ways on several occasions over an eight-year period.
However, the power couple kept getting back together before finally calling it quits in 2015.
Ex-McLaren mechanic Marc Priestley has now revealed how the team used to joke about Hamilton only finding his best form when he and Scherzinger were on good terms.
‘When he first came into this sport, we used to joke amongst the team that Lewis’s performance was so intrinsically linked to the state of their relationship,’ Priestley told the Pitlane Life Lessons podcast.
‘As in, on a good day, he performed well. When their relationship was in the doldrums, and they were so off and on, it was a bit like an emotional rollercoaster.
Lewis Hamilton’s ex-mechanic revealed an inside joke about the Brit and Nicole Scherzinger
Hamilton and Scherzinger had an on-off relationship from 2007-2015 before calling it quits
Hamilton was recently linked to Modern Family star Sofia Vergara, but the romance is now over
‘When he was in these low points in the relationship, you could clearly track the performance in the car to the way their relationship status seemed to be.
‘We joked that there seemed to be more lap time in keeping those two together than there ever could be with anything we could do with the car!’
Scherzinger was by Hamilton’s side when he dramatically won his first world title with McLaren in 2008, and was also in the paddock when he topped the standings again in 2014 with Mercedes, but the pair broke up just a few months later.
Hamilton has since gone on to win five more championships to move level with Michael Schumacher’s record, and despite joking that the seven-time world champion would often struggle when his relationship with Scherzinger was on the rocks, Priestley admitted one of his key strengths has always been to fight back through adversity.
Priestley explained: ‘Lewis is a guy who’s quite emotional. He wears his heart on his sleeve so, without the ability to really control those emotions to the level that some other people might be able to do or might find easier to do, we were faced with an unbelievably talented racing driver whose performance was, in some way, affected by how his emotional state was, which varied greatly at different times over a race weekend or a season.
‘But one thing he was quite good at was waking up the next day with a fresh perspective. He always said to me that this was a new day, a new set of opportunities.
‘You get a new Lewis Hamilton where he’s no longer down. He’s no longer struggling with emotions. He’s now got this fresh perspective where he sees nothing but opportunity in front of him.’
Since splitting with Scherzinger, Hamilton has been linked to a number of high-profile women, including supermodel Gigi Hadid and popstars Rihanna and Shakira.
Meanwhile, in January, Hamilton was spotted dining in New York with Modern Family star Vergara, 52, sparking rumours that they were dating.
Hamilton has been linked to a number of high-profile women, including supermodel Gigi Hadid
Vergara was the latest name to be linked with Hamilton, but she was left feeling ‘abandoned’
Hamilton appears to be focused on succeeding with Ferrari after a mixed start to the season
However, according to American platform RadarOnline, their romance is already over.
The report earlier this week stated Vergara was keen to move forward with Hamilton, with an insider claiming she viewed him as ‘the perfect boyfriend and a great catch’.
But the Formula One legend’s interest has waned, leaving Vergara feeling ‘abandoned’.
Hamilton and Vergara are still in ‘occasional’ contact, but it is understood that the ‘communication is rather one-sided’.
The insider added: ‘She’s the one who stays in touch, hoping for more—and gets little in return.’
Hamilton appears to now be focusing his attention on succeeding with new team Ferrari after a mixed start to the season.
He could only finish 10th in the opening race of the season in Australia, but bounced back to win last weekend’s sprint race in China.
He finished sixth in Sunday’s Grand Prix, but was subsequently disqualified after post-race checks found the plank underneath his car had excessive wear by half a millimetre.
