Lewis Hamilton Thought He’d Lost It. How Do You Get Your Confidence Back?

When disappointing results start to change what you believe about yourself, Hamilton’s recovery offers a practical place to begin.

Lewis Hamilton had qualified twelfth. His Ferrari team-mate, Charles Leclerc, was on pole.

Standing in front of a microphone after qualifying for the 2025 Hungarian Grand Prix, the seven-time world champion described himself as “absolutely useless” and suggested Ferrari should replace him. ^[1]

By last weekend in Mexico, he was taking his first pole position for Ferrari. Afterwards, he explained how he had found the performance.

I knew areas that I could improve on.

Lewis Hamilton, Mexico City Grand Prix, 2026 ^[2]

In Hungary, the problem had become Hamilton himself. In Mexico, he could identify things to work on.

Anyone who has struggled at work, lost form in sport or wondered whether they are getting parenting terribly wrong will recognise how easy it is for the first explanation to take hold. You can have years of evidence that you are capable, then go through a spell that makes you question all of it.

When the results start changing what you believe

Hamilton’s first season at Ferrari brought repeated disappointment. A fresh start with one of sport’s most famous teams became a succession of difficult weekends. ^{[1], [3]}

“Absolutely useless” is a sweeping description for a man with his record. His achievements were still there, and he could no longer feel what they ought to tell him about his capability.

In The 7 Skills to impress™, I call this the Elevate Formula. It describes three ways we explain what happens to us. Does a setback become Self, something wrong with who we are? Does it become Broad, affecting everything? Does it feel Lasting, as though it is here to stay?

Hamilton’s words in Hungary make Self and Broad particularly clear. Later, he explained the doubt that had accompanied that difficult year. He had wondered whether age meant his ability had gone. The possibility of a permanent decline had entered his language too. ^[3]

You can hear versions of it in ordinary conversations. Someone leaves a difficult meeting thinking they are useless at their job. A runner has several poor sessions and decides their best days are over. A parent’s repeated arguments with their teenager start to feel like proof that they have failed as a mother or father.

Each disappointment seems to confirm the last one. Eventually, even a good day can be explained away as luck.

Whose voice gets through?

After his first Ferrari Grand Prix victory in Barcelona in June, Hamilton spoke about how criticism had affected him. He acknowledged letting it get through to him, then described spending time with family and friends who knew him and had continued to believe in him. He also rebuilt his training and worked on his thinking. ^[3]

There is an External Reference element here. Other people’s opinions had affected how he felt about himself, and the people close to him helped him recover his belief.

That is my reading of this account. It gives us a window into how he handled this period, with external influence playing a part in both the difficulty and the recovery.

Some of the mentally strong performers I examine in Pressure Reveals speak from a much more Internal position. In the Tom Cruise article, for example, his interviews show him setting his own measures for the work he wants to make, before the audience and critics deliver their verdict. ^[4]

That can be a considerable advantage when criticism comes. You already have something of your own to judge the result against.

Many readers will recognise Hamilton’s experience more readily. You may know perfectly well that a stranger’s opinion should carry little weight and still find yourself thinking about it hours later. You might receive ten encouraging comments and spend the evening replaying the critical one.

Hamilton’s account suggests a practical possibility. If other people’s voices can affect your confidence, you can be deliberate about which voices you make room for.

A colleague who has watched you work through difficult projects can remind you of evidence you have temporarily lost sight of. A coach can identify the part of your technique that needs attention. A friend can help you put one uncomfortable encounter in proportion.

Ask them for specifics. What have they seen you do well? What needs work? What would they suggest you try next?

Those answers give you something to use when your own judgement has become harsh.

What Hamilton could work on

There were practical changes around Hamilton too. His car changed, his engineering relationships developed and he spoke about being fitter and in a better place personally. F1’s account of his recovery describes changes to his working methods and the support of his team. ^[5]

In Mexico, Hamilton described a difficulty he could do something about. Getting the tyres ready for a qualifying lap had been difficult, and he was learning to adapt his driving to make them work. He was also drawing on techniques he had not called on for years. ^[2]

That is a much Narrower explanation, and his willingness to keep adapting suggests he saw a difficulty he could overcome. In Elevate Formula terms, the problem had become Fleeting. He could work through it by drawing on qualities he already possessed, his experience, knowledge, skill and willingness to work hard.

Those qualities are Self, Broad and Lasting. They belong to him, have served him across different cars and teams, and remain available through a difficult spell. Seeing them that way gives him a reason to believe that further effort will help.

His attention also points Towards the performance he wants to produce. Preparing the tyres and adjusting his approach give him specific ways to use those enduring qualities on the next lap.

Try it with a setback of your own

Think of something that has been knocking your confidence. Write down the sentence you have been using to explain it, as honestly as you can. Then work through the Elevate Formula.

Keep the difficulty Other. Describe the behaviour, circumstances or skill that needs attention, keeping it separate from your Identity. You can own a mistake and repair it. “I rushed the explanation and lost their attention” gives you a useful starting point for your next presentation.

Keep it Narrow. Identify where the problem begins and ends. Which part of the presentation caused trouble? When does your child stop listening? What happens to your technique when you tire? Detail makes it easier to choose what to practise.

Give it a Fleeting frame. Look for what can change, and decide when you will review it. You might rehearse the opening before your next meeting, ask your coach to watch one part of your game, or try a different moment for the conversation at home. Give yourself a credible route forward.

Then bring your Strengths, Qualities and Attributes into the explanation as Self, Broad and Lasting. Your patience, preparation, persistence or ability to learn belongs to you. Look for evidence of those qualities across your life, including occasions when you used them to get through something difficult.

If External noise gets to you, choose two or three people whose judgement you trust. Ask for honest feedback that identifies what needs improving and recognises the capability you can bring to it. After the next attempt, return to the same people and review what changed.

You can offer the same help to someone else, and Rapport is what allows that help to be heard. When your child says they are stupid after a poor test, begin by listening and understanding how it felt for them. They need to feel that you are with them before they can consider another way of seeing what happened.

Once you have that connection and they are ready, you can explore the questions they struggled with, recall how they have learned difficult things before and choose what to practise. You are helping them see a particular difficulty as something they can work through using qualities they already have. A colleague or team-mate needs that sense of being understood too.

Building Rapport is Skill Three in The 7 Skills to impress™, and Five Rules for Inspirational Parenting explores how to create that connection with your child through time together and learning to listen. It gives the Elevate Formula a relationship in which to work.

Hamilton had an extraordinary record of achievement when he began to doubt himself. His recovery involved people who knew him, practical changes and renewed attention to what he could improve. That gives the rest of us somewhere to begin, even on a day when belief in ourselves is hard to find.

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Sources

1. Reuters: Hamilton’s reaction after Hungary qualifying, 2 August 2025. Sky Sports interview video.
2. FIA: Mexico City post-qualifying press conference transcript, 2026.
3. Formula 1: Hamilton explains his recovery after Barcelona, 16 June 2026.
4. Pressure Reveals: Tom Cruise, Failure and the Real Secret of Confidence and Success.
5. Formula 1: Hamilton’s Ferrari transformation.
6. 7 Skills: Book formats and current prices.