ZANDVOORT, Netherlands (AP) 鈥� Lewis Hamilton says more training and less partying is paying off as he heads into the second half of the season in what he says is the fittest he’s ever been mid-campaign.
The 41-year-old Ferrari driver said Thursday he’s 鈥渞efreshed鈥� from his push for physical fitness as he heads into the Dutch Grand Prix trying to chase down of Mercedes and pursue an eighth F1 title.
Hamilton said 鈥渘ormally鈥� drivers would spend a week or two of the break partying but he has doubled down on fitness this year, ahead of the first race since July 26.
鈥淭his has been the most different summer break that I鈥檝e ever had in all of my championship seasons in my career in Formula 1,鈥� Hamilton said. 鈥淚 come back the fittest I鈥檝e ever come back in a summer, in 20 years or whatever that I鈥檝e been here, so I鈥檓 pretty proud of that.鈥�
Hamilton is second in the standings, 50 points behind Antonelli, in a season which has already seen him claim his and re-emerge as a genuine title contender after a flat 2025 when he went into the mid-season break .
鈥淚鈥檝e come in really feeling definitely refreshed. It鈥檚 a different sort of feeling, rather than relaxed,鈥� he said Thursday. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a good feeling, feeling fit.鈥�
Hamilton also had warm words for Ferrari, which he said was 鈥済oing in the right direction鈥� after embracing a more innovative approach to car design to take the fight to Mercedes, which began the year as the runaway leader under F1’s new regulations.
With rain and gusts of wind expected Friday and potentially during Saturday’s sprint race, the Dutch Grand Prix could pose a new challenge to drivers who have yet to deal with the new generation of F1 cars in the wet.
___
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
