Climate issue was important clause in Hamilton's one-year contract

Environmental Issues

In addition to switching to a plant-based diet and getting rid of the jet, Hamilton has also invested in X44, a team participating in a new electric off-road racing series called Extreme E. Instead of flying, the cars and their components will travel the world on the RMS St. Helena, a former Royal Mail ship. "The idea is," says Hamilton in conversation with Wired.co.uk, "to make people aware of environmental issues. Think about the Amazon rainforest, a melting glacier in Patagonia."

Stopping won't solve the problem

So while Hamilton is keen to improve the world, he is still active in perhaps the least carbon-friendly sport there is; Formula One. "It was one of my points in the contract negotiations with Mercedes, as was the team's commitment to support more diversity and inclusion in motorsport through a charity."

However, Lewis is not thinking about quitting himself: "What are my options? I could quit. The advantage would be that I wouldn't have to drive at 20 different circuits and so we would have to fly less. But the fact is that if I stop, the sport will continue. They're not cancelling F1 for me."