Lewis Hamilton expressed optimism about his second year at Ferrari ahead of the 2026 Formula 1 season, citing personal improvements and deeper involvement in the team's new SF-26 car. After a challenging 2025 debut where he finished sixth without a win, the seven-time champion feels more connected to the car following pre-season testing in Bahrain. He highlighted team changes and lessons learned as key to future success.
Lewis Hamilton, entering his second season with Ferrari, has voiced strong confidence for the 2026 Formula 1 campaign despite a difficult 2025 debut. Last year, the 41-year-old Briton finished sixth in the drivers' standings, 86 points behind teammate Charles Leclerc and without a grand prix victory. He described the SF-25 car as one he "inherited" without input during its development, as he was still with Mercedes at the time. This contributed to struggles, including a self-described "useless" moment after qualifying 12th in Hungary.
Hamilton's outlook brightened with the 2026 regulation changes, where he contributed to the SF-26's design on the simulator for eight to ten months, embedding his "DNA" in the car. During the second pre-season test at Bahrain International Circuit, Ferrari completed a solid outing, accumulating laps effectively in the new-generation machine.
"I spent a lot of time rebuilding over this winter, refocusing, really getting my body and my mind to a much better place," Hamilton said. "I generally feel in the best place that I've been in a long, long time with rearranging things within my team and then with the car, I think we started off quite well so far."
Team adjustments include a new race engineer replacing Riccardo Adami, who moved to Ferrari's academy, and Hamilton parting ways with manager Marc Hynes. These changes, combined with lessons from 2025, have strengthened team dynamics.
"My belief in the team is still absolutely the same, 100% faith in this team and what they're capable of," he added. "I knew it wasn't going to be an overnight thing... it's a process. I think we're working better together than ever before."
In the test's morning session on day four, Charles Leclerc topped the timesheets with a 1m33.739s lap for Ferrari, ahead of McLaren's Lando Norris and Mercedes' Andrea Kimi Antonelli, underscoring the frontrunners' edge over the midfield.