Seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton came out at the 2025 F1 season finale and suggested he’ll be off social media during the winter break. As the Briton shared his first social media post of 2026, the inspirational message from the same went viral, and this is what he said.
Lewis Hamilton had a disastrous first season with Ferrari after making the move from Mercedes. Things only got worse as the season went on, and Hamilton was downbeat in the final few races of the season.
Despite the claim of staying away from social media and ‘throwing the phone in the bin’, the seven-time F1 champion did upload a few posts during the off-season. Some of these included his visit to the Lululemon store in London and his visit to NYC.
With the car reveal and the preseason testing inching closer, Lewis Hamilton took to Instagram and uploaded his first post of 2026, which currently has over a million likes, sharing images from his vacation with an inspirational message as the caption of the post. The Briton uploaded multiple images of his skiing trip and detailed how disconnecting and spending time with family and friends is what he needed after a draining year.
Sharing the inspirational message ahead of the 2026 season, Hamilton’s caption read,
“The time for change is now. Starting new routines, leaving behind unwanted patterns and working on growth. Let go of things that don’t serve you. This can take time, there will be things you can’t get rid of immediately, but it starts with the first step.”
“Even though the world can seem like a mess, I hope that you’re staying focused on living life to the fullest. Be you and never forget who you are. I learnt that from many of you who told me this in 2025, and I’ll never forget again! Your support means the world to me, and I’m here for you too. You are never alone. Let’s take it one day at a time, one step at a time,” he added
Ferrari is set to launch the 2026 car on January 23, just a handful of days before the first preseason test.
“No one will be able to get in touch with me”: Lewis Hamilton after a difficult first season with Ferrari
Lewis Hamilton joined Ferrari with the hopes of winning his eighth title. However, the Briton struggled with the SF25 throughout the season, becoming the first Ferrari driver to be eliminated in Q1 three consecutive times. Hamilton also became the holder of the unwanted record for having the most starts for Ferrari without a podium.
Speaking with the media at the Abu Dhabi GP, the Briton detailed his plans to disconnect during the winter break, as he said,
“At the moment I’m only looking forward to the break, just to disconnecting, not speaking to anyone. No one will be able to get in touch with me this winter. I won’t have my phone with me and I’m looking forward to that. Completely unplug from the matrix. I’ve generally always had it around. But this time, it’s going in the freaking bin.”
Lewis Hamilton finished the 2025 season in 6th place in the standings, with zero podiums to his name, whereas his teammate Charles Leclerc stood on the podium seven times during the season.
