Hamilton reveals injury secret behind Ferrari struggles
"Fred continued to believe in me"
Lewis Hamilton says an injury sustained before his Ferrari debut contributed to his difficult first season with the Maranello team.
Fresh from his breakthrough victory in Barcelona - his first win since his final years at Mercedes - the seven-time world champion has revealed for the first time that he spent much of 2025 carrying an injury.
"I had a big crash here last year and I carried that injury around all year, which was really tough," he told Viaplay after the Spanish GP.
The accident reportedly occurred during a Testing of Previous Cars (TPC) session at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya before the start of Hamilton’s first Ferrari season.
Hamilton’s return to the top step of the podium has become one of the biggest stories of the 2026 season, with the Briton P2 in the championship between the dominant Mercedes drivers.
The 41-year-old says a combination of renewed confidence, improved fitness and Ferrari’s development progress has transformed his fortunes.
Former Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz believes the regulation changes have also played a major role.
"This sport has no secrets," Sainz, who was replaced by Hamilton at the start of last year, told Marca.
"We all have a very high level of skill and differences in driving style. Some cars perform well, others poorly.
"The driver’s strength lies in adapting and knowing how to handle all F1 cars."
The Spaniard said he experienced something similar during his own Ferrari career. "It happened to me in 2022," he said.
"It was a car I didn’t like at all, but I adapted, and by 2023 and 2024 I was performing at a very high level."
Sainz believes Hamilton’s revival is closely linked to the characteristics of the new regulations.
"You go to a team with a car you like and you feel like a god," he said. "It’s a much more complicated sport, and Lewis deserves credit for turning it around. The change in regulations was his luck.
"If he continued with last year’s car, we won’t see this Lewis."
Piero Ferrari, Ferrari’s vice chairman and the son of founder Enzo Ferrari, also believes the new generation of cars suits Hamilton far better.
"I’m not surprised by Hamilton’s resurgence. It’s obvious Lewis didn’t like ground-effect cars, and even more so, we didn’t give him or Leclerc a competitive car."
Hamilton has also singled out team boss Frederic Vasseur for helping turn the situation around after a difficult first year together.
"I think it was very, very difficult for him last year," Hamilton said. "It was a serious shock to the system, because I always speak up if I see something I consider wrong, and I’m very persistent in pushing for change."
The Briton admits his demands did not always make life easy for the Ferrari boss.
"I understand that being on the other side of that kind of pressure isn’t easy, especially when you’re simultaneously managing an entire organisation and working within an established culture."
But Hamilton says Vasseur never stopped backing him.
"Fred continued to believe in me, remained a good friend, a great teammate and ally, and always supported me. I had to be very persistent in asking for some changes, and he was the one who made them happen."