The seven-time world champion has endured his most difficult start to a campaign in his 18-year Formula 1 career, going 13 races without a podium in 2025 and sitting sixth in the championship standings.

His best finishes have been a trio of fourth places — at Imola, Spielberg and Silverstone — while his only piece of silverware came in the Chinese Grand Prix sprint, which he won from sprint pole.

Hamilton hasn’t finished on a Grand Prix podium since last year’s Las Vegas Grand Prix, with his current drought stretching to 15 races.

If he fails to end that run this weekend, he will equal Ferrari legend Gilles Villeneuve’s record for the second-longest wait for a podium from the start of a Ferrari career, with only Didier Pironi (19 races) waiting longer.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1 ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix, Hamilton reflected on a turbulent first half of the year — both on and off the track.

“This one’s definitely been the most intense one, I would say, just from a work perspective, integrating into a new culture and into a new team,” Hamilton said. “It’s not gone smoothly in all areas, and it’s been a real battle.”

The 40-year-old said he plans to use the summer break to reset mentally and emotionally after a draining period of adaptation in Maranello.

“My spirit…I definitely need to get away and recharge, be around the kids, laugh, let go. I’m sure there’ll be some tears at some point, and I think that’s really healthy,” he said.

Despite the challenges, Hamilton spoke passionately about his commitment to Ferrari and his belief in the team’s long-term potential.

“I love being in red. I love working with this team. I have such belief in this team,” he said. “It’s really hard to explain, but I already had it a lot when I was in my previous team.

“Like over the time, you really build that camaraderie. And I see the passion in this team, and oh man, I love it.

“It’s like all I want to do is contribute the best I can.”

Hamilton joined Ferrari this season after 12 seasons with Mercedes, where he won six of his seven world titles.

While he acknowledged he hasn’t always delivered the performances he wants on track, he said there’s no shortage of motivation heading into the second half of the year.

“I’m always excited to race. I love what I do,” he admitted. “Of course, I need to do most of that mostly on track, and I’m not always hitting that.

“But also in the background, I see there’s things that we can we can always improve and there’s things that I can improve on.”