Hamilton craving summer reset and a chance to shed ‘some tears’

Lewis Hamilton has admitted he is eagerly anticipating Formula 1’s upcoming summer break, calling his first few months at Ferrari the “most intense” period of his career and hinting at an emotional pause for reflection.

The 40-year-old made headlines when he swapped Mercedes for Ferrari for the 2025 season, ending a historic 12-year stint with the Silver Arrows.

But the seismic shift for team and driver hasn’t delivered immediate success. Hamilton has struggled to adapt to life in red, facing teething issues with the SF-25 and consistently trailing teammate Charles Leclerc over the first 13 races.

“God knows how many seasons have been hard in their own way. This one has definitely been the most intense one, I would say, just from a work perspective,” Hamilton admitted ahead of this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix.

“Integrating into a new culture and into a new team. It's not gone smoothly in all areas, and it's been a real battle. I definitely need to get away and recharge, be around the kids, laugh, let go.

“I'm sure there'll be some tears at some point and I think that's really healthy.”

Ferrari Faith Remains Strong

Despite the struggles, Hamilton remains full of optimism about his future with Ferrari. His results may not yet reflect the move’s potential – aside from a pole and sprint victory in Shanghai last April – but his motivation appears unwavering.

“I'm always excited to race. I love what I do, I love being in red, I love working with this team, I have such belief in this team,” he said.

“It's really hard to explain. I already had it a lot when I was in my previous team. Over time, you really build that camaraderie, and I see the passion in this team and I love it.”

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Hamilton emphasized his determination to keep contributing, on and off track.

“All I want to do is contribute the best that I can,” he added. “Of course I need to do that mostly on track, and I'm not always hitting that, but also in the background.”

With the mid-season pause looming, the British driver is ready to reset.

“I see there's things that we can always improve and there's things that I can improve on. I'm just really excited for this break,” he said.

“I think for everybody, particularly the guys at the factory, they'll definitely enjoy this time with their family and then we'll come back extra energised for the second half.”

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