Hamilton Determined to Rediscover F1 Passion at Ferrari in Second Half of the Season
Lewis Hamilton Looks to Rediscover Passion for Formula 1 During Tough Ferrari Debut Season
ZANDVOORT, Netherlands – Seven-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton enters the second half of the 2025 F1 season intent on rediscovering his love for the sport as he navigates a challenging first year with Scuderia Ferrari.
The highly-anticipated winter switch from Mercedes to Ferrari fulfilled Hamilton’s lifelong dream of driving for the iconic Italian team. However, the partnership has far from met expectations so far. Struggles with adapting to Ferrari's 2025 F1 car and the team’s lack of pace relative to reigning champions McLaren have produced a rocky debut year. A particularly disappointing Hungarian Grand Prix, where Hamilton qualified outside the top ten and candidly labeled his performance as "just useless,” further amplified scrutiny of the high-profile pairing.
Ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort this weekend, Hamilton emphasized a renewed approach for the remainder of the season. "I feel determined to and motivated to [move forward]," Hamilton said during the pre-race press conference. "We are just going to be working, 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, 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, trying to have fun."
Ferrari’s 2025 F1 Challenges Add to Pressure
Hamilton acknowledged that the intense spotlight surrounding his switch to Formula 1’s most historic team contributed to his early-season struggles. Ferrari, a team with global acclaim and enormous expectations, has endured a disappointing campaign after finishing as near-title contenders last season.
"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 — the biggest brand in our sport as well," Hamilton said. "So a combination of all those different things has been a lot."
Ferrari's hiring of Hamilton, one of the most successful drivers in Formula 1 history, elevated expectations to fever pitch over the offseason. However, the spotlight created what Hamilton referred to as unnecessary "noise" around the team, something he believes has distracted from their ultimate goal — delivering on-track success.
"It's probably the most important part [to have fun], because that's the reason I got into this sport, it was fun for me," Hamilton added. "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? There can often be so much noise, you can lose sight of what’s really, really important. 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 moving those things aside and just getting back to focusing on the pure love of what we do."
A Vital Reset During F1’s Summer Break
While Hamilton is realistic about Ferrari's chances of closing the performance gap to McLaren in the second half of 2025, he sees the summer break as a much-needed opportunity to reset his focus.
"Not much has changed, necessarily, but the good thing is, when you get time to unplug like that, it's a reset," he explained. "I had time to go through this past week, particularly, to go through where we've been, things we want to improve on, processes, things we want to try and change moving forwards. I see a lot of potential. There's a lot of positives to take from the first [half of the year], even though it didn't look necessarily the most positive. There's lots of positives to take from it, which we'll take forward and try and build on that."
Can Ferrari and Hamilton Turn Things Around?
As the Formula 1 circus converges at Zandvoort, fans and pundits alike will be eager to see how Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari fare in the Dutch Grand Prix. The remainder of the 2025 season will prove a critical test for both Hamilton’s adaptability and Ferrari’s ability to deliver competitive race results under pressure. Hamilton remains an optimist, backed by years of resilience in the sport’s most unforgiving environment.
Whether Ferrari can translate its enormous legacy into on-track success this season remains up for debate, but Hamilton’s determination to focus on enjoyment and teamwork may be the spark the Scuderia needs.
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