Lewis Hamilton’s form has picked up in recent weeks, with the Englishman winning his first Grands Prix in nearly three years last month.

Lewis Hamilton showed his true colours in a recent interview with Esquire (Image: Getty)

Lewis Hamilton has been through the wringer recently. The Mercedes ace was the undisputed king of Formula 1 for over half a decade, having been crowned champion six times between 2014 and 2020, but has been little more than afterthought since taking a backseat to Max Verstappen.

However, Hamilton’s form finally appears to be on the up. Last month he won the British Grand Prix, his first race win since 2021, and followed it up with a victory in Belgium a couple of weeks later.

Speaking to Esquire, the 39-year-old admitted the last few years had been rough, but credited “persistence and dedication” with ploughing him through the muck. “It’s been mostly a battle of the mind. Keeping yourself sane, trying to pick up new tools,” he said.

“Ultimately, it always comes back to persistence and dedication. Hard work. It always does eventually pay off. I think I learned that life is really about how much pain you can experience and keep going, and how much you can suffer and keep moving forward, you know?

“And that’s life, right? It’s not how you fall; it’s how you get up. It’s how you continue to apply yourself every single day. It’s how you connect with people that you work with. I probably learned to be a better team-mate in this period of time, because we’ve had more time to focus on communication.”

But positivity aside, Hamilton made two stark admissions that might worry Ferrari, who have signed the Englishman ahead of the 2025 season. He conceded that sometimes he wants a break from the sport, and suggested that, on ocassion, he even considers retirement.

Hamilton credits “hard work” with getting him through a difficult period (Image: Getty)

“There are days I’m like, shoot, I don’t know how much longer I can go. There are days I’m like, shoot, I’d love a break, a proper break, because you don’t get a real big break in the season like other sports,” Hamilton said.

“You don’t finish until mid to late December, and then you’re back into training already in January, and that’s two times a day you’re training. There are another couple of hours of therapy that you’re doing during that time as well. So you’re not really getting a huge amount of downtime. And in February, you’re flat out running until December.”

Earlier this year, Hamilton agreed a two-year deal with Ferrari, with an option for a third year, reportedly worth a staggering £347million. It means he’ll part ways with Mercedes after over a decade with the group.

The Stevenage-born driver is hoping the switch will reignite his F1 career, which, by Hamilton’s standards, has nosedived since 2021. After being pipped by Verstappen by just eight points in the title race three years ago, he’s finished sixth and third in the Drivers’ Championship, and is sixth in the current standings.

His fall from grace has been stark considering his relentless run of impeccable form in the late 2010s, which saw him surpass the legendary Michael Schumacher as the man with most race wins in F1 history.