Hamilton: The most important thing is to find the strength within yourself to come back.

      Lewis Hamilton, speaking with journalists ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix, shared that in 2026 he decided to change his attitude towards everything happening to him and around him, especially since the new Ferrari car suits him and allows him to showcase the strengths that helped him win seven championship titles.

      It feels like Lewis has regained his former confidence, which he clearly lacked last season – according to him, this is partly due to the fact that he stopped paying attention to the opinions of the press.

      Lewis Hamilton: “I think it’s just about changing my mindset. I simply don’t allow all the nonsense happening around and the many opinions of different people to affect my perception of myself.

      I hope you saw what I am capable of in the last two races, especially in China. For the rest of the season, I will continue to try to do the same; I haven’t lost the qualities that distinguish me. I will continue to demonstrate them despite everything that some people write about me, and I intend to give my all to overcome difficulties. That’s the goal I set for myself.”

      When Lewis was a Mercedes driver, he won the Japanese Grand Prix four times, but he emphasized that this experience won’t be particularly useful for the upcoming weekend: “I don’t feel like I need to rely on past experience when preparing for the race. I don’t recall past successes at all. I arrived at this track as if it were my first time. Yes, we know the layout of all the corners, but we have a completely new car, and each of these corners requires a slightly different approach.

      I didn’t say that I lost confidence in myself last year; it’s a natural part of the process. But even in the toughest times, the most important thing is to find the strength within yourself to come back. That’s what I’m doing in 2026, and I’m doing it myself, without outside help. It’s in such situations that any athlete undergoes a true test. You have to keep trying to outpace everyone; you have to declare yourself in exactly this way.

      I hope I will have a reason to be proud of myself again, but there is a long road ahead. I have no illusions about this – the season promises to be truly challenging. I’m trying to prepare as best as I can for all the challenges, both physically and psychologically. At the same time, together with Charles Leclerc, I am quite capable of helping the team prepare properly so that we can make up for the deficit.”

      Interestingly, recently Lewis decided to resort to an unusual method of preparation, colored with national Japanese flair: in Tokyo, he took a lesson in traditional swordsmanship under the guidance of master Tetsuro Shimaguchi, who worked on fight choreography in the famous film duology "Kill Bill." Lewis includes this Quentin Tarantino work among his favorite films, but it’s not just about that.

      “Our lesson transported me back in time and reminded me that I practiced karate as a child,” commented the 41-year-old Ferrari driver on his social media pages. “Back then, I started practicing to better deal with bullies at school. And I learned not only to defend myself – I absorbed discipline and understood how important respect and humility are.

      I trained every week for seven years, and each session began with us kneeling and bowing to our sensei. I did the same yesterday before my lesson with Tetsuro.

      Sometimes in life, such full cycles happen, and it’s just incredible. When I was younger, I didn’t understand why bowing was necessary, but as I grew older, I learned to respect this tradition and realized the beauty of this gesture.”