He’s conquered seven world championships, but there’s one challenge Lewis Hamilton admits has gotten the best of him so far: learning Italian. The Ferrari star has revealed he’s officially paused his language lessons after a rocky first season with the Scuderia.
It’s been two and a half years since the bombshell announcement that stunned the racing world, when Hamilton confirmed he was trading Mercedes for Ferrari after 12 seasons. And now, with the Italian Grand Prix at Monza just days away, the timing of his confession couldn’t be more fitting.
In a candid interview with Italian outlet Repubblica, Hamilton opened up about why his language journey has hit a wall. The all-out immersion course he started at the beginning of 2025? Gone.
The demanding, turbulent nature of his debut Ferrari campaign, he explained, simply drained the energy he needed to keep up with the lessons.
“I stopped taking lessons,” Hamilton reportedly admitted. “I had done a full immersion course at the beginning of 2025, but then the season got tough and I had to cut back on commitments that were sapping my energy.”
But it’s not for lack of love for all things Italian. Hamilton made it clear his affection runs deep, from the culture to the cuisine to the country itself. He shared dreams of exploring Florence, Naples, and other iconic cities, but the chaos of his current schedule has put those plans on hold too.
“I’d like to start again because I love Italian,” he said. “I love the culture, the country, the food. I had so many plans to visit Florence, Naples, and other cities, but life got so hectic that I had to give it up.”
Fair enough. Learning a new language later in life is no small feat, and Hamilton’s honesty is genuinely refreshing. But here’s the thing, Lewis: you don’t need to go all in to keep the momentum going.
The tip for anyone in a similar position? Small, consistent exposure beats grand plans every time. A few minutes of vocabulary practice here, some immersion through music or films there.
It all adds up.
And selfishly, there’s a bigger mission at stake. If Hamilton can master Italian, it would be a victory for every English speaker with a painfully bad track record of expecting the world to accommodate our monolingual ways.
So as Monza awaits, one question remains: will we one day hear the seven-time champion celebrating a Ferrari victory in flawless Italian, or is this particular race already over?
