Lewis Hamilton has explained how taking a step back to reset after his disappointing maiden campaign with Ferrari paid off in Barcelona, where he secured an outstanding first victory with the team.
After a decade with Mercedes which yielded six drivers’ titles, Hamilton opted to leave the Silver Arrows and pursue a new chapter at the Scuderia from the beginning of the 2025 season.
He initially struggled to match the pace of his new team mate Charles Leclerc and ended sixth in the standings, marking his first ever season in 19 years without a podium finish in the sport.
However, he has rebounded in style under the new regulations, securing his first Grand Prix podium with Ferrari in China before executing a faultless drive to win the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.
Asked after the race how he handled the negativity that he faced last season, Hamilton responded: “Well, I mean, I’m only human. So, you know, there’s moments where I see the stuff and for sure there’s moments where I allowed it to get to me and penetrate deeply. But, you know, then I went through a sequence of unplugging from that matrix.
“I mentioned it last year, I spent lots of time with family, lots of time with friends, real people that know me, that have never doubted me, have stuck to and by me my whole life. And then I just went on the mission from Christmas Day. The training that I put in was harder than I’ve ever experienced, to keep myself in good shape, because I think at the beginning of last year I got injured here, actually, and carried that for months.
“And [one thing] that I know is to never second-guess yourself, never doubt yourself. You’ve got to continue to believe in yourself at the core. And those are the things that I’ve managed to re-implement into my mentality.
“I’ve rebuilt my mind to this point, to get myself back to where I was. And it’s a great feeling to stand here, or to sit here right now, but to stand on that podium. As I was saying earlier on, I’m probably going to sleep in this red top tonight. It’s a good feeling to have the horse on there at the top.”
Hamilton stormed to P2 in Qualifying with a superb last-gasp attempt that was only 0.064s adrift of George Russell’s pole position time, putting him and Ferrari in the best position yet to end Mercedes’ winning streak.
Although he couldn’t find a way past Russell on the opening lap, he worked with his team to carry out a three-stop strategy that worked perfectly, and was only helped once a Virtual Safety Car was deployed. Ultimately he won by a 19s margin ahead of Russell.
Reflecting on how this victory – the 106th of his career – compares, Hamilton said: “I mean, they’re all special in their own way. You know, there’s different journeys to each of them. The one in Silverstone in 2024 was in its own way a monumental moment for me, because it’s a moment where I never thought maybe that I’d ever get to win again.
“And then after a year like last year, there were definitely moments that I was like, ‘Sheesh, maybe it is true that, you know, when you get to a certain point, you lose it.’ But I’ve proven that you don’t. You always have it and it just takes work. It takes perseverance, that constant believing in yourself to tap into your inner self and keep yourself alive, keep yourself fit.
“And I feel great physically, you know, racing with 19-year-olds who are doing amazing, but I feel great. I think it’s so early in the season to get to this point. These guys have really listened and really worked hard to add performance and be innovative. This year is all about innovation.
“You know, we came out with the bit on the rear exhaust. We came out with the rear wing, the ‘Macarena’. This is what I was asking for last year. It was like this team has to be the leaders in that, and they’ve shown that they can and they will.
“And we’ve got a lot of work ahead of us. By no means is this something that’s just going to happen all the time. We’ve got a heavy, heavy, steep mountain to climb up ahead of us to try to do this, as Mercedes has all year so far.”
