After a difficult first season, Lewis Hamilton seems to have taken a step forward at Ferrari in 2026 — to the point of already rivaling Charles Leclerc.
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The contrast is clear between the beginnings of Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari and his start to the 2026 season. Where he had struggled last year, the Briton only needed two races to secure his first podium.
Above all, his direct comparison with Charles Leclerc has radically changed. In the first four qualifying sessions of the season, Hamilton slightly leads his teammate on average, with only 0.017 seconds advantage.
A tiny gap, but revealing of an important change. In 2025, he was instead about two and a half tenths behind the Monegasque on average.
Even if this sample remains limited, Ferrari considers that this progress is not the result of chance.
Vasseur: a step taken during the winter
Fred Vasseur, who has known Lewis Hamilton since his GP2 debut, believes the Briton truly changed dimension during the off-season.
“It’s true that it’s easier to take a step back in December and have a global vision rather than discuss race by race, because then you are more focused on details,” the Frenchman told our colleagues at The Race.
“It started very well then it was very irregular. But he was the first to understand where he needed to improve, and the connection with people takes time.”
“It’s strange because we spend 24 weekends together, but it’s not the right place to get to know each other. Sometimes it’s better off the circuits.”
“I think he took a real step during the winter.”
According to the Ferrari boss, this evolution is primarily linked to better integration within the team, after a career entirely spent at McLaren and Mercedes.
A central role in the Ferrari project
Hamilton now benefits from a very different positioning within the Scuderia, which directly influences his confidence.
“The feeling he has today is to lead the project. To be there from the start.”
“When you go to the simulator in June and discuss the suspension for the following year, and you feel you are at the origin of the decisions, you are much more confident.”
“He has this feeling today of being involved from the start of the project, which is very useful from a psychological and technical point of view.”
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This key factor explaining his performance rise adds to other factors explaining Hamilton’s return to the forefront this season.
2025 : misleading gaps
Ferrari also emphasizes a point often underestimated: Hamilton’s results in 2025 did not always reflect his real level.
“We are in a very competitive world where a few tenths can make a huge difference.”
A striking example is Hungary last year: a 0.247 second gap in Q2 between Leclerc and Hamilton was enough to eliminate the latter in Q2, while his teammate went on to pole position.
In the current context of 2026, such a gap would not have had the same consequences: Hamilton would have remained solidly in the top 10 on the grid.
Same scenario in Miami in 2025, where a deficit of only 0.058 seconds cost him a place in Q3.
A more favorable hierarchy in 2026
One of the key elements to understand Hamilton’s apparent improvement also lies in the gap between teams.
With a slightly more spread grid at the start of the 2026 season, small performance deficits are less penalizing than in 2025, where the extreme density of the field amplified every mistake or loss of time.
This does not call into question the Briton’s progress, but nuances its interpretation.
Hamilton today gives the image of a driver much more comfortable in an environment that was still unfamiliar to him a year ago. Optimized for the Miami Grand Prix, the Ferrari SF-26, overall more competitive and more consistent than that of 2025, also contributes to this dynamic.
But some benchmarks remain to be confirmed. Suzuka, for example, again showed a slight advantage for Leclerc, even if the gap has narrowed.
The real test will come as the season progresses, with the evolution of the cars and the possible upheavals in the hierarchy.
For now, one conclusion is clear: the signals are much more encouraging for the Hamilton-Ferrari duo than they were at the same time last year.
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