Lewis Hamilton reveals Ferrari testing crash injury he carried for months

Celebrating his debut win in Ferrari red in Barcelona, Lewis Hamilton revealed he was injured when he crashed during a private pre-season test with Ferrari at the Spanish circuit last year.

Ferrari put in the laps at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in January last year as the team ramped up its pre-season preparations with Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, with the teammates running in an SF-23.

Lewis Hamilton reveals long-term injury from 2025 Ferrari Barcelona test crash/h2>

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Having shared the driving duties on the opening day, Hamilton was in the car on the morning of Day Two when he crashed.

Reports from trackside claimed that Hamilton lost control of the SF-23 on the final stretch of the Barcelona circuit, which includes two high-speed right-hand turns.

Hamilton was believed to be unhurt in the incident.

But, a year and a half on, and back at the Spanish circuit, Hamilton revealed he had in fact been injured in that crash.

The Briton won Sunday’s Barcelona Grand Prix to claim his first victory as a Ferrari driver, and in doing so he silenced his detractors who had been insisting that it’s time for the 41-year-old to hang up his helmet.

For Hamilton, it was a case of he is back, he is better, and also he is no longer carrying an injury.

Asked if it had been difficult dealing with the negative comments on social media about his form in his first season with Ferrari when he didn’t claim a single podium finish, the Briton revealed he had been injured during pre-season running.

While Hamilton did not go into details about the injury, he did say it took him “months” to heal.

He told PlanetF1.com and other media after his victory: “Well, I mean, I’m only human. So, you know, there’s moments where I see the stuff and for sure there’s moments where I allowed it to get to me and penetrate deeply.

“But, you know, then I went through a sequence of unplugging from that matrix. I mentioned it last year, I spent lots of time with family, lots of time with friends, real people that know me, that have never doubted me, have stuck to and by me my whole life.

“And then I just went on the mission from Christmas Day. The training that I put in was harder than I’ve ever experienced, to keep myself in good shape, because I think at the beginning of last year I got injured here, actually, and carried that for months.

“And, yeah, I think just things that I know is to never second-guess yourself, never doubt yourself. You’ve got to continue to believe in yourself at the core. And those are the things that I’ve managed to reimplement into my mentality.

“I’ve rebuilt my mind to this point, to get myself back to where I was. And it’s a great feeling to stand here, or to sit here right now, but to stand on that podium.

“I’m probably going to sleep in this red top tonight. It’s a good feeling to have the horse on there at top.

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Sunday’s victory was both Hamilton and Ferrari’s first since 2024, the Briton’s last win coming at that year’s Belgian Grand Prix, while Ferrari won the Mexican GP.

“I think it’s going to definitely take me some days to really… I’ll look back at this for sure and be like, ‘Damn, I wish I had the right words’,” he said. “How do you find the right words to express an emotion that’s beyond your wildest dreams?

“You know, I truly believed in my decision in joining Ferrari. I truly believed in what this team could achieve, what we could achieve together.

“I know it started out with lots of excitement and then lots of doubt and lots of negativity that followed through a whole year. And I really feel like my fans really rescued me last year, my family also, and friends that stuck with me through it all.

“And starting into a new season, a new year, lots and lots of changes enabled in the background me to get to this position that I’m in today.

“I just feel a lot of gratitude, a lot of pride, and very, very proud of the people that I work with. They’re so passionate and have so much humility and they are so kind. And, you know, seeing them sing the national anthem today was wow, was an incredible feeling, man.

“Just the best.”

Hamilton’s 25 points on Sunday coupled with Kimi Antonelli’s DNF saw the Ferrari driver close the gap to the championship leader to 39 points after seven race weekends. George Russell in third is nine points behind Hamilton.

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

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