Lewis Hamilton, in my opinion, could very well be the greatest of all time for Formula 1 drivers. Yes, Senna this, Schumacher that, Verstappen blah, blah, blah. Each has their own claim to the title. But Hamilton's prowess, at his height, seemed preternatural, even if I wasn't a big Mercedes-AMG fan.
But of late, the superstar driver has struggled. He struggled with his Mercedes-AMG after the batshit call ending his dominant reign in Abu Dhabi. And in his Ferrari debut, one that was meant to see him back on the podium steps, well, Ferrari did what it does best: fumble the bag.
Yeah, the 2025 season for Hamilton, his first in the red jumpsuit, was properly horrendous. He DNF'd a couple times, the car was all over the place, Ferrari's CEO said some ludicrous crap meant to silence his own drivers (which is freaking insane), and basically drove around at the back of the pack all season long. It was so bad, so monumentally spirit-breaking, the F1 champion turned his phone off and bought a dirt bike.
God, I can relate to that feeling right now.
Hamilton, who is staying away from his phone, though likely has social media obligations to fulfill through Ferrari and his sponsors, took to Instagram to show how the offseason has been going for him. The dirt bike in question is a KTM XC-F 250, KTM being a brand that Lewis tends to enjoy. It's a solid choice of dirt bike, as far as being able to go anywhere and breathe in the fresh air, and attempt to recenter yourself, which is apparently what Lewis is attempting to do.
According to another post, though taken from the same trip, Hamilton says, "Another return. I’m incredibly grateful for this break. Time to disconnect, recharge and find a bit of inner peace. Time with family and friends replenishing with rest and good laughs has been everything I needed after a very draining year. In a world that moves so fast where we’re constantly being pulled in so many directions, truly disconnecting and has been the most amazing feeling."
Now, here's where I'll chastise the champion a bit, as there are a lot of kids who look up to him. Wear a damn helmet, my man. You've got too many eyes on you to not ATGATT. I know you're likely just tooling around, and you're more than qualified to ride like a hellion, but Schumacher's incident should tell you something about little things becoming big. I'd like to see you win wearing red, so please stick a helmet on.
Let's hope the 2026 season is better, though I'm not sure that's gonna be the case...
