Lewis Hamilton reveals Ferrari 'pressure' that has erased F1 'fun'

Lewis Hamilton has vowed to rediscover the "fun" element of F1 after declaring himself mired in "pressure" since joining Ferrari.

Hamilton's initial joy at signing for Ferrari, after his many years with Mercedes, with whom he won six of his seven Formula 1 titles, eroded rapidly, especially after a sprint win from pole position in the second race weekend of the season in China.

Since then, Hamilton has struggled to find form and performance, suffering his lowest ebb at the last race before the summer break in Hungary, after which he heavily criticised himself, notably describing himself as "useless".

Heading into this weekend's return with the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, the 40-year-old stated that he "completely unplugged" over the shutdown period, spending time with "family and friends", which he declared "great".

Speaking to the media, including RacingNews365, Hamilton is "determined and motivated" to turn over a new leaf with Ferrari after a turbulent first period.

"We're going to work hard, keep our heads down, try to change a few things in our approach and start to enjoy ourselves," said Hamilton.

"There's been so much pressure in this first half of the season that it's not been the most enjoyable, so I think it's just remembering that we love what we do, we're all in this together, and I'm trying to have some fun."

Asked to specifically define the pressure he referred to, Hamilton appears to have struggled in the spotlight of being a Ferrari driver and all that it entails.

Explaining where the pressure has come from, Hamilton said: "Ultimately, 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.

"It's also the biggest brand in our sport as well, so it's a combination of all those different things. It's been a lot."

It is the fun part of F1 that Hamilton is keen to focus on rediscovering, despite all he has achieved in his career.

Hamilton claims it to be "probably the most important part, because that's the reason I got into the sport. It was fun for me."

He added: "For anyone, 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, so 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.

"Now it's about kind of moving those things aside and just getting back to focusing on the pure love of what we do."