Hamilton reveals how he got over his challenging first season with Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton says he enters the 2026 Formula 1 season with a renewed sense of clarity, confidence, and emotional balance after what he openly describes as a difficult first year with Ferrari in 2025.

Reflecting on the winter break, Hamilton explained that a combination of rest, training, and personal rediscovery helped him reset after a season that tested him more than expected.

Hamilton said his positive mindset did not come from a single source but from several factors working together. “A combination of things,” he explained when asked what had changed.

“The break was really positive. It was my surroundings, it was the people that I was with.” He emphasised that stepping away from the intensity of Formula 1 allowed him to regain perspective and reconnect with the people who support him most.

He also highlighted the value of experience in navigating difficult periods. “It’s not my first rodeo, so it’s understanding how to flip things,” he said. “It’s not that easy to do each time, but I always talk about cultivating a positive mental attitude and that’s what I focus on in my winter.”

Hamilton revealed that physical preparation played a major role in rebuilding his confidence. “A lot of it came from training,” he said. “I was training hard from Christmas Day.”

The Briton described the winter as a period where he pushed himself physically and mentally, using the discipline of training to regain control and momentum.

The seven-time world champion also spoke about the importance of self-belief, saying, “Knowing that I believe in myself, that I’ve put more work in than anyone around me, and I believe in myself.”

This renewed confidence, he suggested, is one of the reasons he feels ready for the challenges of the new season. Perhaps the most striking part of Hamilton’s reflection was his admission that he briefly lost sight of who he was during the struggles of 2025.

“Rediscovering myself was a big part of it as well,” he said. “As I said in one of my posts, I kind of lost sight for a second of who I was, and that person’s gone, so you won’t see that person again.”

His comments suggest that the emotional weight of his first season with Ferrari—marked by inconsistency, pressure, and public scrutiny—forced him to confront aspects of himself he felt had drifted. The winter break, he said, allowed him to reset and return to the version of himself he wants to be.