Lewis Hamilton met the media on a rainy Thursday during the FIA press conference.

“I’m happy to be here in Belgium because this is a great track,” began the Brit. “As usual, we will have to deal with the variable weather and, on top of that, it’s the third Sprint weekend of the season, so we can expect a really busy time.”

Updates. Hamilton also answered questions about how he felt about the latest update package the team is introducing here in Belgium on the SF-25. “I’m reasonably optimistic, in that I believe the updates will have an effect, but it’s more a case of being steps in the right direction rather than being a game changer. But it will still be vital to have a smooth weekend, starting from free practice. It will be key, especially if it rains, that both cars get through the only available session, gathering as much data as possible. Of course, the weather could be a very important variable, but everything must be optimised, as that’s the only way to get the best results in this current Formula 1.”

Confidence in the team. When asked, Lewis reiterated his confidence in the team. “The team has enormous potential and, based on my experience, I feel I can say that we have everything we need to win,” he said. “My job as a driver is also to push the engineers, to challenge certain conventions, to try and spark a process of change that will allow it to progress further. We have already made great progress in various areas this year, and we have to continue like this. In recent years, many very strong drivers have passed through this team — some of them already world champions — and they did not manage to reach that goal at Maranello. I’m more determined than ever to make sure that doesn’t happen to me. I’m here to win!”