Lewis Hamilton has conceded that the weight of expectation at Ferrari has made the opening half of his 2025 Formula 1 campaign far from “enjoyable”.
The seven-time World Champion revealed that constant pressure off the track has overshadowed the excitement of fulfilling his dream move, but stressed his determination to reset and rediscover the fun in the second half of the season.
A bleak first half of the campaign was compounded in Hungary, where Hamilton’s struggles continued with another disappointing qualifying session that left him 12th on the grid — and he was unable to recover in the race, crossing the line in the same position.
Before the race in Budapest, the Ferrari driver had suffered further misery at Spa-Francorchamps, a Q1 exit hindering his efforts in both races. Glimpses of hope had emerged elsewhere, including Silverstone, but he missed out on a maiden podium finish for the Scuderia to Sauber driver Nico Hulkenberg.
The podium also eluded him with fourth-place finishes in Austria and Imola, whilst his team-mate Charles Leclerc already has five to his name this season.
Ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix, Hamilton insisted he remains determined to turn things around, stressing the need for a refreshed approach to ease the pressure and rediscover the enjoyment in racing.
“I feel determined to and motivated to, yes,” he told media including Motorsport Week when asked if he felt confident in turning over a new leaf for the rest of the season.
“Just going to be working, we’re going to work hard, keep our heads down, try to change a few things in our approach and start to enjoy ourselves. There’s been so much pressure in this first half of the season [that] it’s not been the most enjoyable.
“So I think just remembering that we love what we do, we’re all in this together, and yeah, we’ll try and have some fun.”
Hamilton: Pressure of Ferrari spotlight has clouded enjoyment
The Briton went on to expand on what had created such an intense first half of the season, pointing to the weight of expectations at Ferrari and the challenges of adapting to life inside F1’s most iconic team.
“I think just ultimately just to get on top of everything, the amount of work we have, all the new partners, the amount of shoots we’ve done, getting integrated into a new team, and it’s a big, big team,” he added. “It’s the biggest brand in our sport as well, so the combination of all those different things has been a lot.”
The 40-year-old also revealed he opted to completely disconnect during the summer break, choosing to spend time with family and friends to reset after the intensity of the opening months.
Hamilton also underlined the importance of rediscovering the enjoyment that first drew him to racing. With the weight of expectation at Ferrari proving a distraction, he admitted that focusing on the pure love of the sport will be essential through the remainder of the campaign.
“I think it’s probably the most important part, because that’s the reason I got into this sport,” he said on remembering to enjoy the moment.
“Because it was fun for me, and I think for anyone in whatever career you’re in, if you’re not enjoying what you’re doing, then why are you doing it?
“And there can often be so much noise, you can lose sight of what’s really, really important, so that’s why I’m saying I just really want to focus on getting back to that enjoyment.
“I’ve joined the team that I’ve always dreamed of driving for, and there’s been so much noise around that it’s kind of clouded us from getting to enjoy it, so now it’s about kind of moving those things aside, and just getting back to focusing on the pure love of what we do.”
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