Lewis Hamilton believes his fans and his family "rescued" him after his nightmare first season at Ferrari.
The seven-time world champion moved from Mercedes ahead of the 2025 season to much fanfare, but aside from winning the Chinese GP Sprint, did not score a podium in any grand prix - the first time in his career Hamilton failed to finish in the top three at any race.
After a particularly galling qualifying session in Hungary, Hamilton branded himself "useless" and suggested Ferrari should "sign another driver."
However, after the change in technical regulations, and other changes he has forced at Ferrari, including the use of Carbon Industries brake discs in an otherwise Brembo set-up, Hamilton has bounced back.
From the first seven races of the season, he has scored four podiums, including three in a row across Canada, Monaco, and Barcelona, as he finally claimed his elusive first victory for the Scuderia last time out.
Reflecting on the tough times, Hamilton explained that he felt his fans "really rescued me last year" as he endured the worst campaign of his career.
"I’ll look back at this for sure and be like: 'Damn, I wish I had the right words.' How do you find the right words to express an emotion that’s beyond your wildest dreams?," Hamilton reflected to media, including RacingNews365.
"I truly believed in my decision to join Ferrari. I truly believed in what this team could achieve, what we could achieve together.
"I know it started out with lots of excitement and then lots of doubt and lots of negativity that followed through a whole year.
"I really feel like my fans really rescued me last year, my family also, and friends that stuck with me through it all, and starting into a new season, a new year, lots and lots of changes enabled in the background me to get to this position that I’m in today.
"I just feel a lot of gratitude, a lot of pride, and very, very proud of the people that I work with. They’re so passionate and have so much humility, and they are so kind."
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