Lewis Hamilton: “I’ve Always Welcomed The Negativity”

Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari era kicked off with a jab at his doubters, the seven-time champ unfazed by the noise as he wrapped up preseason testing at Sakhir.

The 40-year-old, F1’s lone Black driver in its 75-year history, shrugged off barbs from “older white men”—like ex-boss Bernie Ecclestone—about his jump to Maranello for his 19th season. “I’ve always welcomed the negativity,” Hamilton told Time Magazine this week. “I never, ever reply to any of the older, ultimately, white men who have commented on my career and what they think I should be doing. How you show up, how you present yourself, how you perform slowly dispels that.”

Hamilton faced the press during the lunch break on testing’s final day, doubling down. “I haven’t had a second to read the story but I heard it has come out really well,” he said. “Naturally in our sport, criticism is something that everyone receives. I have probably received a lot more of it perhaps throughout my career but I just keep my head down, doing what I’m doing. I know that I’m growing each day, I’m bound to make mistakes I’m only human but one thing that I’m proud of is I have a drive, focus, I’m able to admit when I’m wrong and I know that tomorrow I will work to be better and it really doesn’t matter to me some of the comments that have come up over my career, not just these past 12 months. I use that as fuel.”

That fuel burned through his SF-25 runs—third-fastest on day two, bonding with the red cockpit he’ll steer in Melbourne.

The Brit’s critics haven’t slowed his roll—105 wins, seven titles, and now a new Prancing Horse chapter. Ecclestone’s grumbles? Hamilton’s past it. His answer? Lap times and grit. Testing’s done—round one’s just around the corner…