Lewis Hamilton Says He Spent His July Break Demanding Improvements From Ferrari Brass

After a three-week break through most of July, Formula 1 is back this weekend with the Belgian Grand Prix at the fan-favorite Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, but that doesn't mean that everyone was just chilling on the beach. Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton said that he was hard at work trying to right the ship, as his first half-season with the Scuderia has left something to be desired.

Hamilton's decision to move from Mercedes, where he won six championships, to Ferrari was seismic, but the results just haven't been there this season.

He has yet to finish on the podium in a Grand Prix with the team (though he did win the Sprint Race in China) and is currently P6 in the drivers' standings with 103 points, 16 behind his teammate Charles Leclerc in P5.

Meanwhile, the team is a distant P2 in the constructors' standings, 238 points behind championship leaders McLaren and only 12 ahead of Mercedes in P3.

Hamilton acknowledged Ferrari's struggles with world champions like himself behind the wheel over the last two decades, with Kimi Raikkonen (who did win their 2007 drivers' championship with Ferrari), Fernando Alonso, and Sebastian Vettel struggling to find some success in red after their championships.

Lewis Hamilton revealed that he spent his three weeks off holding meetings with Ferrari brass in an effort to turn their season around. (Photo by Dimitar DILKOFF / AFP) (Photo by DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP via Getty Images)

"I refuse for that to be the case with me," Hamilton said, per the Associated Press. "So I’m going the extra mile… if you take the same path all the time, you get the same results. So I’m just challenging certain things."

To do this, Hamilton had a bunch of meetings with team brass, including Ferrari president John Elkann, CEO Benedetto Vigna, and Ferrari's F1 team principal, Fred Vasseur.

"I’ve sat with the head of our car development, with Loic (Serra, technical director), with also the heads of different departments talking about the engine for next year, talking about front suspension for next year, talking about rear suspension for next year.

"After the first few races, I did a full document for the team. And during this break I had another two documents that I sent in. So then I come in and want to address those," Hamilton said. He added that this included "structural adjustments that we need to make" and "issues that I have with this car."

It remains to be seen if Ferrari will see improvements, but it's impressive to see that Hamilton is still so hungry for success after so many years and so many championships in F1.