Lewis Hamilton wants a grand prix in Africa before retirement

Ahead of the first race of the season in Australia at the weekend, Hamilton said he had “rediscovered” himself after a difficult first season at Ferrari last year.

Amid a string of poor performances in 2025, Hamilton has made a series of negative comments about his performance, including that he is “useless” and “not looking forward”.

He said he spent the winter developing a “positive mental attitude.”

“The break was really positive,” he said. “It was my surroundings. It was the people I was with. This wasn’t my first time at a rodeo. So it’s about understanding how to turn things around. And it’s not easy to do it every time.”

“But I always talk about developing a positive mental attitude. That’s what I focus on in the winter.

“A lot of that has come from training. I trained hard on Christmas Day. I also know I find it difficult.

“I believe in myself because I’ve put in a lot more work than anyone around me. And I believe in myself. Rediscovering myself was a big part of that, too.”

“As I said in one of my works [Instagram] Posts, I lost sight of what I was like for a second. And that person is gone. “You will never see this person again.”

Hamilton said he felt more settled with Ferrari after experiencing a season of “completely different culture” at the team than he knew at Mercedes and McLaren.

“It’s very different from the first year,” he added. He added: “It’s a much nicer feeling, having spent a year with the team, understanding the culture, understanding the methods, finding ways to work together.

“We’re in a good place together as a team. And I feel very happy with the team today. I couldn’t be happier.”

Ferrari failed to win a race in 2025 but is optimistic it will start this season in a more competitive position as Formula One introduces the biggest regulatory change in history.

“We will leave the bad behind us, take control and move forward,” Hamilton said. “We are smart, we are prepared and we know what we have to do.”

“But we also know that there are enormous challenges facing us all under the new rules and regulations.”

His teammate Charles Leclerc said: I would rather be in a situation where we have to temper expectations rather than having to manage a lot of negativity around the team. This is always better.

“But either way, I don’t think this is something that needs to change our mood within the team.”