The Briton won the Spanish GP with a three stop strategy and beat Russell by 19 seconds: "I went through moments where I allowed criticism to penetrate me deeply, but then I decided to disconnect from that matrix," he explained.
Lewis Hamilton achieved his first victory with Ferrari in Barcelona, the Briton delivered an impeccable performance at the Circuit de Catalunya to take the Spanish Grand Prix with a three stop strategy that beat George Russell (Mercedes) by 19 seconds. It was the 106th win of his career and the first after a year and a half drought since his triumph in Belgium 2024 with Mercedes: "They are all special in their own way, but after a year like last year there were moments when I thought maybe it was true that when you reach a certain point you lose it, but I have proven that's not the case" declared the seven time champion.
The Briton explained how he managed to overcome the difficulties of his debut season at Ferrari, where he finished sixth in the championship without a podium for the first time in 19 years: "I've been through moments where I've seen the criticism and allowed it to affect me deeply, but then I decided to disconnect from that matrix. I spent a lot of time with my family, with real friends who know me and have never doubted me, and then I went on a mission from Christmas Day. The training I did was harder than anything I had ever experienced" explained Hamilton.
Hamilton highlighted the importance of mental strength to overcome bad times: "What I know is that you should never doubt yourself, you have to keep believing in yourself deep down, and those are the things I have managed to re implant in my mindset, I have rebuilt my mind to this point to be back where I was" stated the driver, who confessed that at some moments he even doubted whether he still had the talent to win.
The victory in Barcelona had a special flavor because it came on a circuit where Ferrari proved it has taken a step forward in development, the Italian team debuted several innovations on the SF-26 and Hamilton acknowledged the work of his engineers: "This year everything is about innovation, we came out with the appendix on the rear exhaust, with the 'Macarena' wing, this is what I asked for last year, this team has to be a leader in that and they have shown they can and will do it" explained Hamilton.
Hamilton assured that he feels in top physical shape to compete with the young drivers on the grid: "I feel great physically, competing with 19 year old kids who are doing incredible things, but I feel great. We have a very steep mountain to climb ahead to try to do this, since Mercedes has done it all year until now," concluded Hamilton, who is already thinking about the next round.
