Lewis Hamilton believes he has found a solution to his difficulties at Ferrari after deliberately abandoning the simulator before the Canadian GP.
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Lewis Hamilton seems to have found his smile again at Ferrari. After complicated months since his arrival in Maranello, the Briton showed a much more convincing level during the first day of the Canadian Grand Prix.
The seven-time world champion posted the fifth fastest time in the sprint qualifying on the Gilles-Villeneuve circuit, after long seeming capable of aiming for the second row. A small mistake in the hairpin during his last fast lap however prevented him from going even better.
Despite this, Hamilton was particularly satisfied with the behavior of his Ferrari, to the point of stating that he had probably just experienced his best qualifying session of the season.
“This is probably our best qualifying session in a long time,” explained the Ferrari driver. The engineers did an excellent job on the setup changes and the car was really fantastic right from FP1.”
An unusual decision that changes everything
The main peculiarity of Hamilton’s Canadian weekend lies especially in his preparation. Contrary to current habits in Formula 1, the Briton decided not to use the simulator before the Montreal event.
A very rare approach in the modern paddock, where drivers generally spend long hours preparing each circuit virtually before arriving on site.
Hamilton has never hidden his lack of enthusiasm for this work tool, and the results obtained in Canada seem to reinforce his conviction. The 41-year-old driver even hinted that he might continue in this direction during the next Grand Prix events.
“I had so much fun on track,” he confided. Not using the simulator and yet feeling the best sensations of the whole year makes me think that this is probably the right path for me.”
More thorough work with the engineers
Instead of the simulator, Hamilton favored a more traditional approach by working directly with his engineers on the data collected during recent races.
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The Briton believes this method allowed him to better understand certain technical aspects of the SF-26, notably concerning the car’s stability and mechanical balances.
“We worked a lot on the data these last two weeks,” Hamilton detailed. I found it much more beneficial. I was able to focus on my training without being distracted, then analyze in detail the car’s stability, the balance in corners, and the mechanical behavior.”
This thorough reflection led Hamilton to choose a completely new setup since his arrival at Ferrari.
“I opted for a setup that we had never used before and it completely transformed the car for me” he added.
Ferrari hopes to confirm this resurgence
Even if Ferrari still lags behind Mercedes over a lap in Montreal, this progress represents an encouraging signal for Hamilton after an extremely complicated 2025 season and an inconsistent start to the 2026 campaign.
The Briton now seems much more confident with his car and with the working methods put in place around him for several weeks.
His goal is now to confirm these good feelings during the sprint and then the main qualifying, on a circuit where he has often excelled throughout his career.
“SQ1 and SQ2 seemed very solid,” Hamilton concluded. I don’t yet know why some manage to find a bit more performance at the end, but I am mostly happy to finally be in the fight.”
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