Lewis Hamilton: Ferrari Momentum & 2026 Title Hope After First Podium
Lewis Hamilton believes he’s rediscovered his peak form and is confident there’s more to arrive as he builds momentum with Ferrari in the 2026 Formula 1 season. The seven-time World Champion secured his first podium finish with the Scuderia at the Chinese Grand Prix, ending a 16-month drought and signaling a significant turnaround from a challenging campaign.
The third-place finish in Shanghai followed a fourth-place result at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, marking Hamilton’s best start to a season since , the year he last contended for the World Championship. As the F1 circus heads to Japan this weekend, Hamilton arrives with a renewed sense of optimism and a clear desire to close the gap to championship leaders Mercedes.
Last season proved to be statistically the least successful of Hamilton’s illustrious career. He struggled to adapt to the SF-25 car, particularly with the complexities of ground-effect machinery, and found it hard to tailor the car to his specific needs. The team also shifted development focus early towards the regulations. Yet, behind the scenes, Hamilton was actively engaged in understanding the team’s operations and contributing to the design of the new car.
“I definitely feel like I’m back to my best, both mentally and physically,” Hamilton stated after the race in China. “I still think there’s room to improve. I think I can still eke out more performance from this car. I’m still learning about it as I go, particularly with [energy] deployment.”
The shift in Hamilton’s mindset is striking. He openly admitted to needing a complete reset after a frustrating season, stating at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that he “couldn’t wait to get away from all this” and planned to “completely unplug for the matrix” during the off-season. That decision appears to have yielded positive results.
“Training this winter has been the heaviest and the most intense that I’ve ever had, and that probably comes hand in hand with being older,” Hamilton explained. “It takes longer to recover. But I’ve managed to pull these new tools together. I’ve got a great trainer that I’ve been working with in the past, but we worked together since Christmas Day.”
A key change has been the restructuring of his engineering team. Hamilton’s previous race engineer, Riccardo Adami, has moved to other duties, and he now has a new voice in his ear, fostering improved communication, and collaboration. This, combined with his increased involvement in the car’s development, has contributed to his improved performance.
Hamilton’s struggles in led to speculation about his future with Ferrari, but he remained committed to the project. He actively sought to understand the car’s characteristics and provide feedback to the engineers, a process that has now begun to bear fruit.
The new generation of F1 cars, with their narrower design, lighter weight, and 50-50 split between internal combustion and electrical power, also appears to suit Hamilton’s driving style better. He has embraced the challenges presented by these cars, praising the increased opportunities for wheel-to-wheel racing.
“It was one of the most enjoyable races I’ve had in a long, long time, if ever, the fact that the cars are the way they are this year,” Hamilton said of the Chinese Grand Prix. “And that battle with Charles at the end was awesome – great wheel-to-wheel battle, very fair and just what we want.” He even described a brief contact with teammate Charles Leclerc during their intense battle as “just a kiss.”
Sky Sports F1 analyst Anthony Davidson believes the change in car philosophy has been pivotal. “It just goes to show that however experienced you are and however great you’ve been in previous iterations and generations of F1 car, that you can come across one that just doesn’t suit your style,” Davidson commented. “I think he’s proving that the last ground effect era of Formula 1, the car just didn’t suit. Whether it was in a Mercedes or a Ferrari, it was the same story.”
Hamilton’s improved form isn’t solely down to the car, however. He’s also benefiting from a more collaborative relationship with the Ferrari team. He emphasized the importance of the team listening to his suggestions and implementing changes based on his feedback.
“Mid to end of last year, [I was] digging deep with the engineers and talking to them about the things that I wanted from a car that I didn’t have any part of developing last year, to then develop the car with them this year,” he explained. “To see them listen and put some of those things that I’d asked for on the car, I’m incredibly grateful to them for listening on that side of things.”
While a first victory with Ferrari remains the ultimate goal, Hamilton believes it’s now within reach. He acknowledged that Mercedes currently holds a performance advantage, approximately four or five tenths of a second, but remains confident that Ferrari can close the gap. “I definitely feel that I could say that it’s more in sight than ever before,” he said. “But I think as you’ve seen, these [Mercedes] guys in qualifying – somehow we were a little bit closer in qualifying [in China] – but in the race trim I think they’ve got four or five tenths on us at the moment.”
The Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka presents another opportunity for Ferrari to demonstrate its progress. Hamilton and Leclerc will be looking to challenge the Mercedes duo of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton’s former teammate, and current rival, as the championship battle intensifies.