Sir Lewis Hamilton says he is feeling "happier than I've ever been", despite his struggles so far this season.
The seven-time F1 world champion currently sits sixth in the driver standings, 32 points behind fifth placed Carlos Sainz and 33 behind Mercedes teammate George Russell. Hamilton could also lose his impressive record of managing to win a race in every season of his F1 career should he fail to win any of the remaining Grand Prix.
And, while Hamilton admits his struggles mean it is "really strange" that he is "happier than I've ever been", he says he is simply "finding more happiness in my personal life now". Speaking to Sky Sports, the 37-year-old said: "It's been a good period, transitional.
"I definitely feel I'm happier than I've ever been, which is really strange because I'm not winning in racing, and that's really been my go-to thing.
"Having success there would bring me so much happiness, but I'm finding more happiness in my personal life now, just being more comfortable in who I am, and my surroundings and my intentions."
Hamilton visited Africa during F1's summer break and said the trip "put things into perspective" for him. "We live in such a bubble, there's so much happening around the world and so many people are struggling with so much," he added.
"It's sad to see if you really sit and watch the news because it feels like it's worse than ever. That experience of going to Africa, seeing people with so little - I say so little but they also have everything, they're so happy - but just seeing a different way of living.
"We accumulate too much stuff, we eat too much food, the things that we take for granted, people don't have that luxury and I think it's really great to have that experience to put things into perspective. There, it was just when I was most at peace.
"The motherland has a special energy there, it is like the centre of the earth. I could feel those vibrations there. It was also the music, the smiles of the people, the way people share their energy. I saw so many things that I didn't know I was going to experience."
