Autobayng News Team
Lewis Hamilton has revealed he sustained a previously undisclosed injury during last year’s world championship.
The Ferrari driver referred to the injury following his victory in yesterday’s race at the Circuit de Catalunya but gave no further details about it other than how long it affected him for.
He said he had a “big crash” at the track at the beginning of the year. Although he did not specify when, Hamilton tested at the track before beginning his first season as a Ferrari driver.
“I trained very, very, hard this year,” Hamilton told Viaplay. “Last year was difficult from the beginning because I got injured here, actually, a big crash that I had here last year and I was carrying that injury through the whole year which was really really difficult.”
His first season at Ferrari proved a disappointment as he failed to reach the podium in a grand prix throughout the campaign. “I never want to think about it,” he said.
Speaking in the official post-race press-conference, Hamilton said the negative comments in response to his performances last year had affected him.
“I’m only human so there’s moments where I see the stuff and for sure there’s moments where I allowed it to get to me and penetrate deeply,” he said. “But then I went through a sequence of unplugging from that matrix.
“I mentioned it last year, I spent lots of time with family, lots of time with friends, real people that know me, that have never doubted me, have stuck to and by me my whole life.
“Then I just went on the mission from Christmas Day. The training that I put in was harder than I’ve ever experienced, to keep myself in good shape. I think at the beginning of last year I got injured here, actually, and carried that for months.”
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He said spending more quality time with those who know him best reinforced his self-confidence. “I know to never second-guess yourself, never doubt yourself,” he said. “You’ve got to continue to believe in yourself at the core. And those are the things that I’ve managed to reimplement into my mentality. I’ve rebuilt my mind to this point, to get myself back to where I was.
“And it’s a great feeling to stand here, or to sit here right now, but to stand on that podium. As I was saying earlier on, I’m probably going to sleep in this red top tonight. It’s a good feeling to have the horse on there at the top.”
The seven-times world champion said it was hard to express his joy at scoring his first victory for Ferrari. “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?”
“I truly believed in my decision in joining Ferrari,” he continued. “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. And I really feel like my fans really rescued me last year, my family also, and friends that stuck with me through it all.
“Starting into a new season, a new year, lots and lots of changes in the background enabled me to get to this position that I’m in today. I just feel a lot of gratitude and a lot of pride – very, very proud of the people that I work with. They’re so passionate and have so much humility and they are so kind.
“Seeing them sing the national anthem today was an incredible feeling, man. Just the best.”
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