Lewis Hamilton looked utterly disconsolate at times during the 2024 Formula 1 season. His final season at Mercedes was statistically the worst of his career.

Lewis Hamilton feels 'invigorated' ahead of new F1 season for Ferrari | CNN

Teammate George Russell beat him in 19 out of 24 Grand Prix qualifying sessions, and also started ahead in five out of six Sprints. Russell is envious of Hamilton’s ability in the races, but his disappointing grid spots often inhibited his potential.

Hamilton won twice, including a memorable victory at the British Grand Prix, but he only scored five podiums. That matched a career-low (2009 and 2013).

Lewis Hamilton’s podiums by season

He couldn’t understand why he’d lost his pace, to the point that he said he simply wasn’t ‘fast anymore’ in an interview late in the season. Russell ultimately finished 22 points ahead in the championship as Hamilton dropped outside the top six for the first time.

By the end of the year, the consensus was that a change was needed. Even Russell acknowledged that Hamilton required a ‘fresh start’ at Ferrari.

The seven-time world champion made his first official appearance in their colours at F1 75 live on Tuesday. He then returned to Italy for their individual car launch.

Lewis Hamilton could not stop smiling during Ferrari interview

As part of Ferrari’s launch proceedings, Hamilton spoke to the media for the first time since his change of teams. It was over a month ago that he reported to Maranello to begin his work.

According to Lawrence Barretto, writing on the official Formula 1 website, Hamilton was smiling from the ‘very first word’ of his interview, and that remained throughout. The change in his demeanour is stark.

Photo by Mark Sutton - Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images
Photo by Mark Sutton – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty ImagesIt’s worth noting as well that Hamilton was ‘operating on a couple of hours sleep’ after Ferrari’s late flight out of London. They didn’t land back in Italy until 4am, and he was on track in the SF-25 later that day.

Hamilton’s supporters will be delighted by Barretto’s insight. It shows that their driver has rediscovered his joy and motivation after a largely morale-sapping 2024.

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Barretto’s assessment is in line with what Ferrari insiders have been saying. Team principal Fred Vasseur says Hamilton has brought ‘mega enthusiasm’ this winter.

As noted in the aforementioned piece, the feel-good factor will quickly fade if the superstar signing continues to struggle. Ferrari have invested an enormous amount of money to sign Hamilton from Mercedes.

For now, though, Karun Chandhok says the hype around Hamilton is ‘unreal’, and it’s increasing his excitement for the start of the season. He scored a podium in Australia on his McLaren debut in 2007 and he’ll look to, at the very least, repeat that feat.

Mercedes were rarely capable of competing with the pace-setters last term, so perhaps Hamilton will be energised by the chance to win regularly, with Ferrari confident about challenging for the title.