Lewis Hamilton admits he "shed a tear" after Arsenal ended English Premier League title drought

Arsenal secured their first league crown in more than a decade, sparking celebrations among supporters worldwide, including Ferrari driver Hamilton, who spoke emotionally about the achievement during the drivers press conference on Friday.

Hamilton explained how his allegiance to Arsenal began during his childhood in Stevenage, long before his rise to global sporting fame. “I think like for everyone, very emotional. I shed a tear, to be honest, because I remember I was five-years-old and I used to play in the local Stevenage, Peartree Way, used to play around the corner football with friends.

“And I was the only black kid in the area, and out of the people that I was playing with, I remember trying to fit in and all of them supported different, West Ham and Tottenham and Manchester. So, I was bouncing between all these when I was like four or five years old, depending on who I was with.”

Hamilton recalled that it was his sister who ultimately made the decision for him: “And my sister, I remember exactly, I messaged her the other day, she was walking me home and she asked me what team I supported, and she gave me a dead arm,” Hamilton laughed.

“But then, you know, she gave me a little dig in my arm and said, ‘You have to support Arsenal.’ So, we had a laugh yesterday about it.”

The Ferrari driver said Arsenal’s recent progress under manager Mikel Arteta had been inspiring, particularly after several near misses in recent seasons: “But we’ve had so many near close moments, and to finally get it, it was wow. A lot of emotion came up for me, as I’m sure for so many people.

“I’m just so happy and proud of the team. And obviously Arsenal was great. I think the direction they’ve gone in the past couple of years has been just fantastic. So very inspired by what they’ve done, really proud of the team, and I think they can go from strength to strength from here and only get stronger.”

Hamilton also drew parallels between Arsenal’s long term rebuild and his own hopes at Ferrari, where he joined ahead of the 2025 Formula 1 season in pursuit of an eighth world title.

The 41 year old said he studies successful leadership structures in sport as he looks to help Ferrari return to championship winning form after years of frustration.

“And in terms of my time with my team, yeah, I’m always looking for other leaders that are doing great things and how they work with teams,” Hamilton explained.

Hamilton continued: “I’m always trying to learn how I can be a better colleague, a better team mate to the people around me, how I can extract more from myself but also from the people, from the groups that I get to work with. Because teamwork really does make the dream work. It’s a real thing.”

He added that adapting to Ferrari’s environment has required patience and flexibility, but insisted he remains optimistic about the future with the Italian team. When you have a huge group of people, there are so many different energies and you have to be quite dynamic to be able to integrate into those different sections.

"But I feel like we’re in a really good place. I’m in a good place with my team. There’s always going to be teething issues and stuff that you always have to work on. But yeah, I’m really happy.”

Hamilton arrives for the weekend in Canada, where he won his first Grand Prix back in 2007, knowing that winning in Montreal would take be historic, and take his tally of victories at the legendary venue to eight, one more than Michael Schumacher. The Briton has not won a GP since Belgium 2024.
(Reporting by Agnes Carlier in Montreal)