After a particularly difficult first season with Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton is back at the forefront in 2026. The Briton believes that the changes he demanded are finally starting to pay off.
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The contrast is striking for Lewis Hamilton. After experiencing the most difficult season of his Formula 1 career in 2025, the seven-time world champion has this year found a Ferrari capable of regularly allowing him to play a leading role.
At the summer break, Hamilton is in second place in the drivers’ championship, 59 points behind Kimi Antonelli. He already has one win and four other podiums after eleven Grands Prix.
A situation radically different from his first campaign at Maranello. Hamilton had then finished a season without securing a single Grand Prix podium for the first time in his career. In Hungary, particularly frustrated after qualifying, he even went as far as suggesting Ferrari recruit another driver.
Twelve months later, his speech has changed considerably.
Hamilton had demanded deep changes
His difficult adaptation to Ferrari was not only based on the car’s performance. From the start, Hamilton had identified several areas in which he wanted to see the team evolve.
But transforming certain technical characteristics or working methods takes time, which had considerably frustrated the Briton.
“When you are in a situation where you know what needs to be improved and you shout it from the top of a mountain, but it doesn’t necessarily happen because it can’t be done immediately, it requires several months of development or you have to wait until the next year because of the regulations, it’s like banging your head against a wall”, explains Hamilton.
He sums up the situation simply: “It’s hard.”
Among his main difficulties was braking. Used to Carbon Industrie discs during his twelve seasons at Mercedes, Hamilton found it more difficult with the system traditionally used by Ferrari with Brembo.
The Scuderia now uses a hybrid CI-Brembo solution that better matches the sensations sought by the Briton.
Hamilton wanted to see Ferrari innovate more
Beyond his own preferences behind the wheel, Hamilton also wanted to evolve Ferrari’s philosophy.
The seven-time world champion believes that a team with the history and resources of the Scuderia should not simply follow the technical trends of its rivals, but create them.
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“Last year, one of the things I was asking was: ‘Where is our innovation?’ Ferrari should be the team that innovates. It should be the one that all the other teams try to copy.”
Hamilton believes he has observed a major change in this area since the start of the 2026 season.
“This year, you see us coming with innovations that others then followed. And there are still many innovations to come, which is really exciting.”
Ferrari has indeed adopted a particularly aggressive development strategy this season, regularly introducing new parts on the SF-26 to reduce its gap to Mercedes.
Fred Vasseur listened to Hamilton
Hamilton also highlights the role played by Fred Vasseur in this transformation. The Ferrari director is said to have supported several changes directly requested by his driver since his arrival at Maranello.
“I think that starting to see some of these things materialize now plays a big role. Fred has really been great in the way he works with me and helps implement some of the changes I wanted.”
After the frustration of 2025, seeing his requests gradually materialize now allows Hamilton to focus more on his driving.
“It kind of frees you up and lets you go do what you do best.”
At 41, Hamilton seems to have found at Ferrari an environment and above all a car better suited to his demands. With a first win in red already achieved and second place in the championship, the Briton can now hope to turn this revival into a real fight for an eighth world title.
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