25/05/2020
NEWS STORY
Under normal circumstances, Lewis Hamilton would be one-third into one of the most important seasons of his life.
Indeed, yesterday could well have seen the Briton score his fourth victory on the streets of Monaco, as he worked towards a record-equalling seventh title.
But these are different times, and rather than battling Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen in the Principality, the world champion, like the rest of us, is in lockdown and wondering if things will ever be the same again.
Indeed, in a video for Mercedes, the Stevenage rocket admits there are days when he struggles to get motivated.
"I have days when I wake up and feel groggy, I don't feel motivated to work out," he says. "I feel, 'Jeez, where are we going? What's next? Should I continue racing?'
"I think all these different things, and then I'm like 'Damn it!', and the next hour, or whatever, it passes, and I'm like 'Damn! I love what I do! Why would I ever consider not continuing?
"Mentally it's really about ultimately feeling good about yourself," he continues. "It's about finding a way to make sure you love yourself. You have to really be able to love yourself and be comfortable on your own.
"I've been really spending time trying to take time for me," he added, "making sure that I appreciate me, acknowledging things that you do well, acknowledging when you do well, acknowledging also when you fail and you don't do it so great. It's okay. And not being so hard on yourself, all these different things."
Hamilton, who has not followed the example of a number of his rivals and spent the lockdown brushing-up his eSports skills, reveals that he put the lockdown to good effect, improving himself mentally and physically.
"If we are not improving and growing during these days then what are we doing?" he says. "You're obviously just wasting your time sitting on your backside. Nothing's going to get handed to any of us. We've got to go out there and get whatever it is we want, and you've got to want it more than the person you're fighting against. You've just got to get off your arse and do it.
"I'm in pretty decent shape, but I can always be in better shape. I see things and I'm like, 'Damn, I've got a bit of fat here. Shoot, I've got to work harder, I've got to go for a run'. In actual reality, I don't really have much fat.
"But there are people out there that have these things going through their minds. You've just got to let go, find what it is you love and say I'm going to do it. I'm not going to let anything get in my way."