Lewis Hamilton has entered this season at Ferrari determined to revive his form after a disappointing 2025. That year he finished sixth in the drivers’ standings, did not record a single grand prix podium and was frequently eliminated in Q1. His intra-team duel with Charles Leclerc remains the clearest measure of recovery: Leclerc outqualified Hamilton 23 times to seven, took seven podiums and finished 86 points ahead in 2025. Some critics have been blunt — Roberto Boccafogli called Hamilton ‘clearly outclassed’ — and Ralf Schumacher warned Hamilton could ‘pull the plug’ on his F1 career if he cannot match Leclerc in the opening three or four races. Hamilton has publicly ruled out retirement and his Ferrari contract runs until the end of 2027; figures such as Bernie Ecclestone have reportedly urged him privately to retire.

Ferrari and Hamilton are relying on this season’s regulation overhaul and encouraging pre-season testing to deliver improvement. Ferrari topped running in Barcelona and Bahrain, with Leclerc posting the fastest test time and the SF-26’s revised rear-wing package praised for its straight-line speed. F1 presenter Will Buxton highlighted Hamilton’s strong showings in testing and predicted he can return to winning ways. Ferrari CEO Stefano Domenicali said Hamilton felt confident ahead of the rule changes.

Behind the scenes, Ferrari has reshuffled engineering support — Riccardo Adami moved into a different role and Hamilton has a new race engineer — as the team seeks clearer communication and technical gains. Observers warn that if meaningful improvement does not arrive with the new regulations, Ferrari’s high-profile signing could be seen as a gamble that backfired, adding pressure on team principal Fred Vasseur and potentially jeopardizing Leclerc’s long-term commitment.

Sources