Lewis Hamilton says his fans saved him from a “dark place” during a torrid first season with Ferrari — and has now revealed he was carrying an injury for several months that made an already brutal year even harder to endure. The seven-time world champion finally broke his Ferrari duck at Sunday’s Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, adding to three podium finishes from the opening six races of 2025 to signal a genuine title charge is building.
Lewis Hamilton Dark Place: How Fans Kept the Champion Going
The turnaround makes last year’s misery look even starker. Hamilton failed to register a single podium throughout his debut Ferrari campaign, publicly calling himself “useless” after a dire qualifying session at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Yet through all of it, the voices in the grandstands apparently cut through the noise.
“I really wanted to say a huge thank you — I wouldn’t be standing here today without the support you have given me,” Hamilton posted on Ferrari’s Formula 1 profile. “You really saved my life last year and helped me pick up from a dark place and difficult moment in my life, and I dedicate this win to you.”
Speaking to Sky Sports after the victory, Hamilton elaborated on how specific fan messages stuck with him. “Last year several of the fans were shouting to me: ‘Don’t forget who you are,'” he said. “That really resonated with me.” He admitted critics had made him question himself, but he drew a clear line between fan negativity and the kind that stings deepest — fellow drivers talking him down. “The ones that are worse are when it’s a driver, who knows how hard it is in this field, and they don’t even have the success that I have and they talk negatively.”
For more on how Hamilton has rebuilt that relationship with his Ferrari garage, read our feature on Lewis Hamilton and Carlo Santi: the engineer bond driving a title charge.
Injury, Isolation and a Mission That Started on Christmas Day
Beyond the mental battle, Hamilton also disclosed a physical one. He picked up an injury at last year’s race at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya — the very same venue where he stood on the top step on Sunday — and carried it for several months.
“The training I put in was harder than I’ve ever experienced, to keep myself in good shape,” he explained. “I think at the beginning of last year I got injured here, actually, and carried that for months.”
As the winter arrived, Hamilton made a conscious decision to unplug entirely. He ditched social media, spent time with family and close friends, and launched what he called a personal mission from Christmas Day. “Real people that know me, that have never doubted me, have stuck to and by me my whole life,” he said. “And then I just went on the mission.”
Consequently, his mindset looks completely rebuilt. He spoke of reimplementing self-belief at his core, reshaping his engineering setup and pushing Ferrari’s car development in the direction he demanded. There is still work to do — Hamilton was clear about that — but on Sunday night, he admitted he might sleep in his red Ferrari kit. After everything he has been through, nobody can begrudge him that.