One year on from the lowest point of his Ferrari career to date, Lewis Hamilton has said he takes pride in the way he has reversed his form over the past 12 months.
After qualifying 12th for last year's Hungarian Grand Prix, Hamilton claimed he was "absolutely useless" and said Ferrari "probably need to change driver."
The disappointing result came in the middle of an underwhelming debut season in red, in which the seven-time world champion struggled to match teammate Charles Leclerc and failed to score a grand prix podium all year.
Following changes to Formula 1's regulations over the winter, Hamilton has returned as a rejuvenated force on the grid, scoring his first win for Ferrari at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix in June and outscoring Leclerc by 33 points over the first ten races of the season.
"I'm definitely proud of everyone in the team and also I am definitely proud of myself for getting myself out of the place that I was in," Hamilton said ahead of this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix when asked to reflect on the last year.
"One day when I do my documentary, I'll tell you all about that weekend and what led up into it. But to come from there, even coming into this week I felt a lot from last week [at the Belgian Grand Prix] and I arrive worlds away from where I was last year."
Hamilton has spoken regularly about changes Ferrari has made behind the scenes to suit his preferences this season, and he said they had been crucial for putting him in the fight for victories in 2026.
"I feel really grateful for the way we've developed as a team," he added. "The pieces to the puzzle that have moved and come together. And now we come here with a great car, with a great package as a whole that we can fight with."
Hamilton has finished the last two races in Britain and Belgium in third and fourth, while his teammate Leclerc has finished the same two races first and second.
