Lewis Hamilton sent a powerful message to fans as he admitted that he sometimes feels "hopeless and helpless".
The Briton has endured a difficult season so far, with Mercedes struggling to be competitive against the likes of Red Bull and Ferrari. Instead of challenging for the title, which he is used to, he has found himself doing his best to be in a position to snatch a spot on the podium whenever possible.
And away from the track it has been a testing few weeks for the seven-time world champion. Footage emerged which showed he had been the target of a racial slur used by disgraced F1 champion Nelson Piquet – and on more than one occasion.
Elsewhere, he has been in a row with the FIA over jewellery, hit out at ex-F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone who defended Piquet for his slurs and praised Vladimir Putin, and responded to "mind-blowing" cheering from hostile fans after crashing during qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix.
In the wake of all those incidents, Hamilton took to social media with a rousing message to his fans, in which he sounded like he was still positive. "We are living in such a challenging time. We all have bad days where we feel hopeless and helpless, myself included," admitted the Brit.
"It's part of being human. But remember there is always something you can do. You are more powerful than you even know. When the world feels violent we can become more gentle, when everything feels like chaos we can pursue peace.
"We unlock so much when we become more intentional with what we're thinking, saying, projecting and doing! Don't give up hope that a brighter day is ahead of us, we're in this together and I choose to believe something great is ahead of us all. "I choose to do everything in my power to make good things happen. I believe in you. Sending high vibrations, positivity, and love."
Hamilton is currently enjoying a few days off before the next double-header on the F1 calendar. He will hop to build on podium finishes at Silverstone and in Austria with more strong results at the French and Hungarian Grands Prix.
Former racer Jolyon Palmer has backed Hamilton as a "dark horse" to take his first victory of the season in France next weekend. And Red Bull chief Christian Horner said he now considers Mercedes to be a rival again with the Silver Arrows "there or thereabouts" in terms of performance.
