Earlier than the primary race of the season in Australia the weekend, Hamilton stated he has “rediscovered” himself after a tough first season at Ferrari final yr.
Amid a sequence of poor performances in 2025, Hamilton made a sequence of damaging feedback about his personal performances, together with that he was “ineffective” and was “not trying ahead” .
He stated he spent the winter cultivating a “optimistic psychological perspective”.
“The break was actually optimistic,” he stated. “It was my environment. It was the those who I used to be with. It isn’t my first rodeo. So it is understanding learn how to flip issues. And it is not that straightforward to do every time.
“However I all the time discuss cultivating a optimistic psychological perspective. And that is what I give attention to the winter doing.
“Loads of it got here from coaching. Coaching onerous on Christmas Day. Additionally figuring out that I discover it onerous.
“I consider in myself that I’ve put extra work in than anybody round me. And I consider in myself. Rediscovering myself was actually an enormous a part of it as effectively.
“As I stated in considered one of my [Instagram] posts, I sort of misplaced sight for a second of who I used to be. And that individual’s gone. You will not see that individual once more.”
Hamilton stated he felt extra settled with Ferrari after a season’s expertise of the “very completely different tradition” on the crew from what he knew at Mercedes and McLaren.
“It is massively completely different to the primary yr,” he stated. “And it is a a lot nicer feeling coming, having spent a yr with the crew, understanding the tradition, understanding methods, discovering methods of working collectively.
“We’re in place now collectively as a crew. And I really feel very gelled with the crew right this moment. I am a lot happier.”
Ferrari did not win a race in 2025 however are optimistic they begin this season in a extra aggressive place as F1 introduces its greatest regulation change in historical past.
Hamilton stated: “We’re forsaking the dangerous and taking the pinnacle, transferring ahead with the nice. We’re sharp, ready and we all know what we have to do.
“However we additionally know there are large challenges for all of us with the brand new guidelines and rules.”
Workforce-mate Charles Leclerc stated: I desire to be able the place we’ve got to calm the expectations down reasonably than having to handle a whole lot of negativity across the crew. That is all the time a little bit of a greater scenario to be in.
“However in each methods I do not suppose that that is one thing that should change our personal temper contained in the crew.”
