‘I’m ADHD’ – Lewis Hamilton makes ‘surprise’ claim ahead of F1 2026 season

Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton has claimed that he has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Hamilton, the seven-time world champion, is preparing for his second full season as a Ferrari driver having made the move to Maranello from Mercedes last year.

Lewis Hamilton: ‘I’m ADHD’

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The 41-year-old endured a disappointing first year with his new team in 2025, failing to score a podium finish across a season for the first time in his F1 career.

After suffering a winless season in 2025, expectations are growing at Ferrari ahead of F1 2026 after the SF-26 car impressed during pre-season testing in Bahrain last month.

The 24-race season begins with the Australian Grand Prix, held at the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne, this weekend.

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Ahead of the new season, the 22 drivers appeared in a video released by Formula 1’s official YouTube channel in which they were asked to reveal a surprising fact fans might not know about them already.

Hamilton responded by claiming that he has ADHD, a neurodevelopmental condition with symptoms including hyperactivity and concentration difficulties.

He said: “I’m ADHD.

“When I walk into a room in my house, I’m really moving all the books into a perfect position.

“And it really frustrates the life out of me when I see something off, like my lamp is tilted to the left.

“I walk into my house and I go around the whole house before I even sit down, rearranging everything.

“And then an hour’s gone by and I’m like: ‘Damn it, I didn’t even realise!'”

Despite his claim of ADHD, the behaviour patterns described by Hamilton appear to be more in step with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), an anxiety-related condition.

People with OCD suffer from uncontrollable recurring thoughts and behaviours that they feel driven to repeat to reduce stress.

David Beckham, the former footballer, is among the most famous names to struggle with OCD, with his symptoms appearing to be similar in nature to those outlined by Hamilton.

In an interview with ITV in 2006, Beckham said of his condition: “I’ve got this obsessive-compulsive disorder where I have to have everything in a straight line or everything has to be in pairs.

“I’ll put my Pepsi cans in the fridge and if there’s one too many then I’ll put it in another cupboard somewhere… everything has to be perfect.”

Andrea Stella, the McLaren team principal, is also known to arrange the recording devices used by journalists in a neat line before starting his media briefings on F1 race weekends.

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