‘That person has gone’: Lewis Hamilton ditches despair for feelgood Ferrari reboot

‘That person has gone’: Lewis Hamilton ditches despair for feelgood Ferrari reboot Seven-time world champion admits he ‘lost sight of who I was’ but has optimism as new campaign begins on Sunday I n the dying embers of the 2025 Formula One season there was a period when Lewis Hamilton , one of the greatest drivers of all time, seemed cut from an almost unrecognisable cloth. The confidence, humour and calm assurance in his own abilities had been stripped away, replaced by an almost despairing bewilderment. It was so alien to his usual character that many considered it a wonder that he was managing to drag himself on to see the year out. In the buildup to this weekend’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, Hamilton was typically forthright in acknowledging it had been something of a psychological break. “I lost sight for a second of who I was,” he said. “That person’s gone, you won’t see that person again. It was just something that built up over a period of time. And I think it’s normal. Lots of people have that at some point through their lives. It’s important you pick yourself back up and you evaluate where you’ve been and come back with that positive mental frame of mind.” The contrast between that negativity and the optimism of the buildup to his debut season with Ferrari was so marked as to be almost theatrical. The fervour and anticipation of the seven-time champion donning the rosso corsa to try to end Ferrari’s interminable title drought had come to nought. Hamilton endured the worst season of his career, finishing sixth in the drivers’ championship, behind his teammate Charles Leclerc, who also comprehensively out-qualified him during the campaign. He failed to take even a podium place for the first time, but, far worse than the cold statistics, he appeared simply adrift. Ferrari’s recalcitrant car, not great to open with and on which development had ceased within almost a month of the season starting, looked beyond him. His attempts to adapt t...