Lewis Hamilton said he feared he had lost the ability to win in Formula One after ending a long wait for success with Ferrari in Spain on Sunday.

The 41-year-old Briton, a seven-time world champion, charged to his 106th grand prix victory at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona with a flawless drive that capitalised on Ferrari’s pivotal three pit-stop strategy.

After starting second behind George Russell of Mercedes, Hamilton’s sparkling performance ended a 41-race winless run – and he admitted there were doubts such a day would ever come.

“After a year like last year, there were definitely moments that I was like: ‘Sheesh, maybe it is true that when you get to a certain point, you lose it’,” Hamilton said.

“I’ve proven you don’t. You always have it. It takes work, it takes perseverance, constant believing in yourself, to tap into your inner self.”

Asked about the negativity that clouded his early struggles at Ferrari, with intense criticism rife on social media, Hamilton said: “I’m only human. There’s moments where I see the stuff, moments where I allowed it to get to me and penetrate deeply … I spent lots of time with family, lots of time with friends, real people that know me, that have never doubted me … Then I just went on the mission from Christmas Day. The training I put in was harder than I’ve ever experienced.”

Fred Vasseur, the Ferrari team principal, said Hamilton’s victory was “a lot about resilience … he had to face tough moments. Beginning with us was not always easy. He had moments when he was down, struggling to build up the relationship with the team, to understand each other. But he kept putting the same energy into the project, continued to push each day at the factory.”

Toto Wolff, the Mercedes team principal, said of his former ally: “Congratulations to Lewis. He’s worked so hard and has gone through so many difficult moments, particularly last year, that wholeheartedly I’m happy for him. If it’s not our turn to win, it should be Lewis. He merited that today. You can say the virtual safety car [for Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso] maybe came at the right time, but that’s what it is.”

Hamilton added that self-belief was key in achieving a cathartic success that may yet help him force his way into a fight for the drivers’ title with the 19-year-old Kimi Antonelli, whom he trails by 41 points after the Italian’s late retirement.

“You’ve got to believe in yourself at the core,” Hamilton said. “Those are the things that I’ve managed to re-implement into my mentality. I’ve rebuilt my mind to this point, to get myself back to where I was. It was a great feeling to stand on that podium. I’m probably going to sleep in this red top tonight – it’s a good feeling to have the horse [Ferrari logo] on there.”

Of Hamilton’s well-documented relationship with Kim Kardashian, meanwhile, Wolff added: “Maybe the girlfriend helps.”