Lewis Hamilton’s public relationship with Kim Kardashian has been a popular talking point among fans and tabloids as of late. Those asking if his public relationship could tank his performance got their answer this past weekend, with his first-place finish at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.

This marks Hamilton’s 106th win and his first since joining Ferrari in 2025. After nearly two years without a win, this could mark a turn for Hamilton amid increasingly young and talented competition.

What started the myth

Former McLaren communications director Matt Bishop has suggested that Hamilton’s relationship with singer Nicole Scherzinger negatively affected his performance during his stint with the team. Bishop believes that Lewis struggled emotionally through periods of his relationship with Scherzinger. This coincides with his lack of success during 2009 to 2012. Of course, many reasons can contribute to a drop in performance, this one just happens to be a buzz-worthy one.

Post-Nicole Lewis dominance

Throughout his time with Mercedes from 2013 to 2024, Hamilton was linked with several celebrities. This included Rihanna, Gigi Hadid, and Shakira, though he denied being romantically involved with any of them.

He assured the media throughout this period that he was focused on winning. During this period of privacy and focus, he secured six of his seven world championships, making him one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time.

Ferrari, and Lewis’s low point

Hamilton left Mercedes for Ferrari beginning with the 2025 season, marking a new chapter in his career. Any assumptions that being single (or at least private) directly correlated with success were proven false. He finished the season as the first Ferrari driver in 44 years to complete a season without a podium.

At this point, any theories about his on-track performance correlating with his romantic life were out the window.

2026: New regs, new Lewis

As the 2026 season brought with it new regulations and cars, Hamilton’s performance saw a renewed uptick. The performance assured fans that he was certainly still a contender on track. Hamilton qualified fractionally ahead of Leclerc on average early this season. This was a stark reversal from last year, when he was two and a half tenths behind on average.

Enter Kim Kardashian

As Lewis had become romantically linked to Kim Kardashian earlier this year, some speculated that it could mark another dip in performance for Hamilton. On the contrary, Lewis has continued his steady performance throughout the early phases of the season, leading fans to question how this could differ from his past relationships.

This brings us to this past weekend, where Lewis secured his 106th win and his first at Ferrari. At this point, Kardashian is very much in the picture, which leads theorists to wonder if the “distraction” narrative has been inverted completely.

While sports can often be rife with superstition, in the case of Hamilton’s girlfriend curse, it was just lazy media shorthand built up around his poor McLaren era. If we step back, it may be as simple as suggesting that Lewis performs well with emotional stability, and he may have just found it with Kim Kardashian. We will have to see how the rest of his sophomore season with Ferrari shakes out before making any definitive conclusions.