LEWIS HAMILTON is a world title contender again — and his rivals think it is all down to Kim Kardashian.
Hamilton’s first victory for Ferrari in Sunday’s Catalunya Grand Prix leaves him second in the drivers’ championship behind Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli.
But the 41-year-old’s adventures OFF the track are of even more interest to the wider audience, thanks to his romance with US icon Kardashian.
He walks around the paddock with a grin and a skip in his step, which is a stark contrast to the gloomy days of 2025 when he even called on Ferrari to replace him as their driver.
His former boss at Mercedes Toto Wolff admitted: “Maybe the girlfriend helps.
“It helped me to have a partner, that you have a stable family life — and they seem to be getting on really well.
“It’s all of those factors that put together the emotional, personal and professional perspective. If they are in a good place, you win.”
Seven-time champion Hamilton seems to have rediscovered his mojo after nearly two years without a race win. And his rivals had better take notice.
All weekend, Hamilton was saying “I remembered who I am” and thanked fans for “continuing to remind me who I am”.
After all, his win in Barcelona was his 106th and left Wolff looking twitchy for the first time this season.
The Austrian said: “I know what he’s capable of and I’d rather not fight with him for a title.
“If he smells blood, he goes. I’ve seen it many years where, suddenly, the Lewis Hamilton train started to go — and then it’s very difficult to stop it.”
Hamilton suffered a woeful first year at Ferrari, failing to finish on the podium for the only season in his career.
But, for the first time in five years — when he only just missed out on a record eighth title to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen — he looks a threat.
And it is no coincidence that it comes after Ferrari brought substantial upgrades to take the fight to Mercedes.
In fact, the Italian outfit brought the most upgrades of any team, listing eight changes to the car.
And Hamilton added: “This is really down to everyone back at the factory, they’ve been working so hard.”
Not only is this season’s Ferrari car better but the team is operationally improved, too. Gone are the frosty exchanges between Hamilton and his former race engineer Riccardo Adami.
Hamilton recently called his new right-hand man Carlo Santi the ‘Italian Bono’ in a nod to his old Mercedes engineer Peter Bonnington.
Asked to explain Hamilton’s resurgence, Wolff added: “Hard work. This is a car that is maybe different to the previous-era cars with the bouncing, the stiffness, maybe not easy to feel.
“This is back to more conventional driving in terms of at least aerodynamics and vehicle dynamics.”
Barcelona also highlighted that Mercedes are not indestructible and there are areas where they can be hurt.
Their pace advantage has been eroded by both Ferrari and defending champions McLaren.
Battles between team-mates Antonelli and George Russell helps Hamilton, too — as it did in Spain when they lost time to Ferrari while squabbling.
And it must be noted that Mercedes’ reliability is also questionable, with Russell failing to finish in Canada and Antonelli suffering an electrical problem on Sunday.
