Lewis Hamilton putting ‘absolutely everything’ in bid for eighth world title
The Ferrari driver is fourth in the 2026 F1 Championship
Lewis Hamilton said he is training harder than any other driver on the Formula One grid as he “dedicates absolutely everything” to winning a record eighth world championship.
The 41-year-old heads into this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka off the back of claiming his first Ferrari podium after he finished third in China a fortnight ago.
Hamilton endured a horror first season at Ferrari following his move from Mercedes. At one stage he described himself as “useless” and even called on the Italian giants to replace him with another driver.
However, Hamilton has been revitalised by the smaller, lighter, nimbler generation of cars which resemble a throwback to his glory years in the sport.
Asked about rediscovering his best form, Hamilton, 18 points behind Mercedes’ George Russell in the championship standings, said: “I personally don’t find it a relief.
“It is just a change of attitude and not letting all the BS that comes out of people’s mouths get in the way of knowing who I am and what I am able to do – and hopefully you saw that in the last two races, and particularly the last race.
“I have not lost what I have had, and regardless of people who write that, I will continue to show up and train harder than ever. I was in Tokyo between this race and the last race. I ran 100 kilometres, and I know none of the drivers I am racing against have trained as hard as I am and giving it what I am, especially at my age.
“And I love that, that I still have that drive to push myself. I was at the hotel and several drivers walked in and I had finished my run, and I knew they were just getting up. The commitment is there more than ever, and I will dedicate absolutely everything I have to this challenge and these cars.”
Hamilton is in a new relationship with Kim Kardashian, and videos of the celebrity couple together in Tokyo circulated on social media prior to this race.
Russell, Hamilton’s team-mate for three seasons, said: “Lewis is clearly in a much better place and looks to be much happier with life – and that’s probably because he is loved up now.”
Mercedes hold a healthy advantage over the rest of the field and while Hamilton briefly led in Shanghai, he took the chequered flag 25 seconds behind winner Kimi Antonelli.
Hamilton continued: “I am ultimately proud to get to this point, but there is a long way to go and I am under no illusions that it is going to be a really tough season. I am trying to prepare myself physically and mentally for the long haul so that I can sustain the good performances I have had for the past two races.
“I never said I lost confidence last year. It is a natural part of a process as an athlete that you go through seasons like that and some of the most trying times, and the most important thing is getting back up and that is what I have done this year.
“No-one has done it for me. I did it for myself and that is what we have to do as individuals and that is the ultimate test as an athlete, to get back to being your best, showing up, and pushing in the face of adversity.”
Published: by Radio NewsHub