“‘Still I Rise’ for me is a metaphor that I apply in life. It’s based on overcoming difficult moments, failures, and always having a positive mindset aimed at improving myself.” This was how Lewis Hamilton explained the phrase that has accompanied him throughout his career back in 2017—a mantra so deeply rooted that he wrote it on his helmet and tattooed it onto his skin.
His emotional victory yesterday in Barcelona is a textbook example of just how meticulously the British driver follows this life philosophy. Truth be told, if he had let himself be defeated by adversity, he would have never stood on the top step of the podium.
Against all odds, Hamilton never backed down
The recent years of Hamilton’s career have been anything but smooth sailing. After matching Michael Schumacher’s all-time record of seven World Championships in 2020, his professional journey was hit by an unprecedented barrage of obstacles. In 2021, following a breathtaking season that saw him battle a hungry Max Verstappen point-for-point, he lost the title in Abu Dhabi in the most controversial manner imaginable.
Following that heartbreaking finale, Lewis decided to take some time off to find himself, completely disappearing from social media and public engagements for more than two months. He needed to reflect on what had transpired and process it, but he certainly did not throw in the towel. The following year, 2022, presented a crucial opportunity. With a brand-new technical regulations cycle, Mercedes had the chance to help him claim that elusive eighth world title. Yet, the car’s stark lack of competitiveness compared to Red Bull crushed those dreams of glory from the outset.
This painful script repeated itself throughout 2023 and the opening months of 2024, stretching Hamilton’s winless drought to nearly 1,000 days. Then, the magic finally returned: a fantastic victory in front of his home crowd at Silverstone, marking his final appearance on home soil with the team that made him a legend. Yes, his last home race with the Silver Arrows, because during the winter he had already committed to the Ferrari project for the following season. He did so with one singular objective: to continue rewriting history, but this time, dressed in red.
In 2025, he did indeed rewrite the history books—but for all the wrong reasons. For the first time in his career, he concluded a season with zero podiums (since his Chinese Sprint race success belongs to a separate statistical category), becoming the driver with the most races in the Scuderia’s history without a top-three Grand Prix finish. He endured a brutally difficult season, during which he even lost faith in his own abilities. “I’m just useless. The other car [Leclerc] is on pole position, so I am the problem. Maybe Ferrari needs to change drivers,” he admitted after an extremely disappointing qualifying session last summer in Hungary.
Yet, Lewis did not quit. He didn’t hang up his helmet. He continued to believe in himself—and in the team—fully aware that the new 2026 technical era represented a completely blank slate for everyone, and consequently, a prime opportunity to start fresh from zero. In the cockpit of the new Scuderia challenger, a car in which he stated he “feels its DNA,” he rediscovered himself. He returned to being the Hamilton we all knew in years past—the Hamilton he always knew he could find again.
During the Barcelona weekend, it finally hit him once more that refusing to surrender to hardship was the right choice. After a grueling wait of over 600 days, he tasted the sweetness of victory again. This time, however, the flavor was even sweeter than what he was accustomed to. Because this time, he won in Ferrari red.
At 41 years old, with 105 victories and 7 world titles already secured with two other teams, he was visibly moved to tears while watching his mechanics sing the Italian national anthem. He likely couldn’t wrap his head around the sheer joy he managed to gift them with his triumph. In doing so, he became the oldest driver to win a Formula 1 race since Jack Brabham in South Africa back in 1970, and the first driver over the age of 40 to triumph in the 21st century (the last being Nigel Mansell in Australia in 1994).
Perhaps it is no coincidence that this unfolded in Barcelona, the exact venue where another seven-time world champion, Michael Schumacher, claimed his very first victory for Ferrari precisely 30 years ago, in 1996.
“Thanks to the fans, who helped me remember who I am. I would have never made it without them,” an emotional Lewis Hamilton expressed after crossing the finish line.
Ultimately, however, it is the fans who should be thanking him. For years, Sir Lewis Hamilton has been teaching the world that true champions are not those who never fall, but those who always find a way to stand back up, face adversity, and conquer life with just three words in mind: “Still I Rise.”
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