Lewis Hamilton finds fulfillment in Japan's culture and community ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton has been in Japan the last several days ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday. As we have seen, and as I’ve said repeatedly, even before his encouraging performances in the first two races of the season, Lewis has seemed reinvigorated, a total reset after the disappointment of 2025. During interviews this week, Lewis explained that "I think it's just a change of attitude, just not letting all the BS that surrounds me coming out of people's mouths, get in the way of knowing who I am and what I'm able to do”. What he’s doing is training hard.

He’s already said that he’s trained harder in this most recent off-season than he ever has. Which, frankly, is necessary since he’s in his 40s now, and the sport is so hard on the body.

"I was in Tokyo between this race and the last race. I ran, like, 100 kilometers. I know that none of ‌the drivers ⁠I'm racing against have trained as hard as I have and given it what I have, especially at my age as well. I love that, that I still have that drive to push myself. The commitment is there more than ever."

This is a conversation that’s been happening the last couple of years – whether or not Lewis’s heart is still in it, whether or not he’s lost motivation in tandem with the car’s loss of speed. The new car, obviously, is giving much better results so, at least so far, driver and vehicle are on the same frequency. There are always mechanical and other bumps during an F1 season though and it’ll be interesting to see if Lewis can maintain this momentum.

The thing about Lewis, though, is that he finds fulfillment outside of the paddock, and I’m not talking about romance, I’m talking about culture and community. Car nerds were thrilled this week when he pulled up to Daikoku in a Ferrari F40, the right way. Not under bright lights with painted in branding but as the most famous car enthusiast coming to hang with other car enthusiasts which, from what I’ve seen, and since today’s theme seems to be appreciation over appropriation, has been embraced by car enthusiasts as exactly the right energy.

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On that note, while in Japan, Lewis went back to the dojo, sharing this carousel of the experience he just had with sensei Tetsuro Shimaguchi. In his post, he credits sensei for his work, reflects on his connection to Japanese culture, and what it taught him, respecting the tradition and the people.