Welcome back to Plane Thoughts.
Two weekends ago, Lewis Hamilton won his first race with Ferrari, the team he joined two years ago in a major move from Mercedes, with whom he dominated for over a decade. He is the most successful Formula One driver of all time, yet he had just endured one of the worst seasons of his career as he came to grips with a new team, a new car and a new set of technical regulations.
After a visibly dark period, the whole sport celebrated the win with him. One moment from that stretch was covered widely: a fan calling out "remember who you are, Lewis," a line that clearly landed and stayed with him at the time.
High-performance athletes are masters of mindset, and their interviews offer real insight for anyone pursuing success in any domain. His post-race comments are no exception. He explains what he did over the winter break to reset and rebuild himself, to get back to winning. In his own words, he rebuilt his mind.
It is fifteen minutes and well worth the watch (link at end). I have pulled out the key parts below. I hope they offer some food for thought.
On whether the doubt was ever real
"After a year like last year there was definitely moments that I was like, maybe it is true that when you get to a certain point, you lose it. But I've proven that you don't. You always have it. And it just takes work. It takes perseverance, that constant believing in yourself, to tap into your inner self and keep yourself alive, keep yourself fit."
On letting the noise in, then stepping away from it
"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. But then I went through a sequence of unplugging from that matrix, and spent lots of time with family, lots of time with friends, real people that know me, that have never doubted me, have stuck by me my whole life."
On the reset itself
"And then I just went on a 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 just the thing that I know is to never second-guess yourself, never doubt yourself. You've got to continue to believe in yourself at the core. And those are the things that I've managed to re-implement into my mentality. I've rebuilt my mind to this point, to get myself back to where I was."
On asking for what he needed from the team
"Last year was really tough for him [Ferrari team principal], to deal with me coming was a big shock to the system, because I am very, very vocal. If I see something that I don't think is right, I push very, very hard. That's at the core of who I am, and I'm relentless with it, and it's not easy to be on the receiving end of that. But he continued to believe, continued to be a good friend, a great teammate and an ally, and really supportive. And ultimately he really listened at the end. I had to really, really ask for some of the changes, and he enabled them to happen, which I'm forever grateful for, because this wouldn't have happened without those changes."
On the conditions falling into place
"These guys have really listened and worked hard to add performance and be innovative. This year is all about innovation. And this is what I was asking for last year. I was like, this team has to be the leaders in that. And they've shown that they can and they will. The changes that I've asked for and pushed for all last year have been made, and I now have the right team around me. I now have the right car around me. And now I can start doing what I do best."
On staying in the present
"Very hard to think long-term at the moment. I think it's just about taking it one race at a time, one week at a time. We just keep pushing and enjoying it. We have to just have fun with it as well."
There is a pattern worth naming in all of this. The rebuild was internal, but it was not only internal. He worked on his mind, his belief, his body. He also changed the conditions around him, and he had to ask, repeatedly and uncomfortably, for those changes to happen. Both halves mattered. Mindset without the right environment would not have been enough, and nor would the reverse.
When something in your life is not working, which half are you neglecting: the work on yourself, or the courage to ask for what you actually need around you?
— AJ
On my bedside table
📖 Non-fiction · Die with zero: getting all you can from your money and your life — Bill Perkins
💬 Quote · "If you no longer go for a gap that exists, you’re no longer a racing driver." — Ayrton Senna
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