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Just call this Lewis Hamilton‘s learning season.

With a move over to Ferrari on the Formula 1 circuit, the seven-time World Champ is hoping to get back to the top with his new team, though he’s admitted that he still has a steep learning curve when it comes to understanding the new car. The red Scuderia Ferrari car isn’t the only thing Hamilton is discovering this year though: the driver and entrepreneur is also launching a new Cinco de Mayo campaign for Almave, Hamilton’s non-alcoholic blue agave spirit.

Dubbed “Margaritas Safe for Work” (or MSFW) an accompanying press release says Almave lets you “still enjoy the #1 cocktail for Cinco with zero judgment from your boss.”

Hamilton admits he wasn’t entirely aware of Cinco de Mayo when he first started drinking tequila, but the annual holiday has grown on him since.

“There’s less Mexican influence in the UK than the US, as you’d expect, so Cinco de Mayo isn’t as widely celebrated over there,” he tells Rolling Stone, “but the more I started travelling over to the US, the more I learned about it. I always love being able to celebrate and learn about other cultures, and of course, love how good food and drinks are such a big part of Cinco de Mayo celebrations, especially tequila.”

Hamilton launched Almave in 2023 after looking for a tequila alternative that would allow him to enjoy the same flavors, but without the dreaded side effects of alcohol. “Whether it’s a really great-tasting mezcal on the rocks or an amazing margarita, tequila has always been my go-to spirit,” he says, “but more often than not, my training schedule as an athlete means I’ve had to choose something different.”

The search led him to Mexico, where he teamed up with renowned spirits maker Casa Lumbre for yet another learning opportunity. Working with co-founder and master distiller Iván Saldaña (who has created more than 60 spirits and holds a PhD in Plant Biology), Hamilton and the team used the same blue agave plant, and many of the same time-honored tequila-making practices from Jalisco, to create a new spirit that would “capture the full flavor and tradition of agave [but] without alcohol.”

While Hamilton notes that there are many great non-alc options on the market right now, he hopes fans will embrace Almave the same way they’ve embraced other partnerships and projects in his life. The driver says working on Almave has also been a good reminder of finding balance, both in terms of his social calendar and his own self-care.

“I’ve been an athlete my whole life, so I’ve always had to balance living life to the full with knowing what I need to do to look after my body and mind, and to be able to perform at my best,” he says. “As I’ve gotten older, I’ve started to really value the quiet moments with my friends and family, and to appreciate coming together over a great meal or drinks. In those moments, when you’re really focused on your surroundings and the people you’re with, you want to be able to enjoy what you’re putting into your body without worrying about how it will affect you the next day.”

“It’s why I feel so lucky to have created a brand like Almave,” he continues, “[because] it means I don’t need to cut off those special moments in order to stay focused, and I love that my fans get to experience that too.”

The new Almave campaign comes in the midst of a chaotic F1 season, that looks to be a four-way battle between Ferrari, Mclaren, Red Bull and Mercedes, Hamilton’s former team. Though he’s being pushed by younger drivers like Mclaren’s Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris this year, the F1 champ affirms that Ferrari has the pace to get him back to the top. “It’s honestly such an exciting time in my life,” he says. “I’ve been in this sport a long time and experienced so much, but driving for Ferrari is a dream I’ve had since I was a little kid. It’s still early days, but I’m feeling positive about the direction we’re headed in, and I’m really enjoying learning from a new team and working with so many talented people.”

As for whether bottles of Almave have made it around the Ferrari paddock, Hamilton says he’s been successfully taste-testing it with both drivers and crew alike. “I’ve definitely had a few people in the paddock ask to try Almave when they see me drinking it, and they always love it,” he says. “Everyone in our sport needs to stay super sharp and focused during a race week, so they like the idea of a tequila that doesn’t give them any of the negative side effects.”

“That’s how Almave was born,” the F1 star says. “[It’s] a high-quality, non-alcoholic alternative that works for my lifestyle, without feeling like I have to give anything up.”