Lewis Hamilton’s brother Nicolas opens up on his gambling addiction

Lewis Hamilton’s brother, Nicolas, has revealed he fell into a deep depression and considered suicide as a result of an ‘all-consuming’ gambling addiction.

Nicolas, 32, is the half-brother of the seven-time Formula 1 world champion but threw away thousands of pounds on gambling across a six-month binge.

He revealed that his addiction had started from a simple £2 bet on Arsenal to score before it spiralled into him playing online casino casinos and blackjack in his room in 2017.

Just two years earlier, Nicolas made history by becoming the first disabled driver to race against able-bodied competitors in the British Touring Car Championship.

However, after he fell into debt, Nicolas was forced to sell his Mercedes C63, a luxury car he described as his ‘pride and joy’, owing to his ‘naivety’ about finances.

Nicolas Hamilton, Lewis Hamilton’s half-brother, has opened up on his gambling addiction

Nicolas, also a racer, spent thousands on a six-month binge and spiralled into depression

Writing in his new memoir, Nicolas has openly admitted he even contemplated suicide

The blue motor had been gifted to him by Lewis, Nicolas has detailed in his new memoir, but was sold off because he could not afford to settle a large tax bill.

Writing in ‘Now That I Have Your Attention’, Nicolas has spoken freely on the dark days he spent eating Pot Noodles in his room in a ‘hole’ he could not escape.

‘I felt so ashamed, using this amazing gift to pay my tax bill,’ he wrote. 

‘It felt like I had practically stolen the money from my brother and I have never forgiven myself for that.

‘It destroyed me. I got a real wake-up call. I had no way of going forward because I’d lost everything.

‘I was stuck. I had a balcony at my flat and I was thinking what would I do if I just jumped off it.’

After he was unable to pay off a tax bill, Nicolas sold a Mercedes gifted to him by Lewis

Nicolas admitted he did not feel able to discuss his struggle with his family members

Lewis encouraged Nicolas during his childhood, when he began to suffer from cerebral palsy

Nicolas’ addiction worsened three years into his brother’s spell with Mercedes, in 2017. Conversely, the sporting icon had been earning at least £24million a year. 

But he did not feel able to discuss his struggle with Hamilton or his parents, and instead relied on daily calls to helpline Samaritans over a gruelling two-week period.

‘I wanted more of the winnings – and the losing didn’t really deter me. It just got me in a cycle,’ Nicolas told The Times.

‘I couldn’t stop thinking about it – I just wanted to go back to my computer. The whole day would go quite easily.

‘I could see it was a problem but I was too far in. I was scared to stop. I’d lost so much money that I felt like, if I stopped, I was in a hole that I wouldn’t get out of.’

Now, Nicolas has overcome his addition – and did not bet during a visit to a Las Vegas online casino real money – and has admitted he is relieved ‘gambling is no longer an issue’.

For help from Samaritans, www.crypto-vegas.com call 116 123 or visit samaritans.org.

Lewis HamiltonDepression

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Nicolas Hamilton: growing up in the shadow of my brother Lewis

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