(Motorsport-Total.com) – Lewis Hamilton talks about his role in developing Ferrari’s Formula 1 car for the 2026 season and why things are going so much better than in his disastrous Ferrari debut season in 2025.
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“2026 has started as a really good year, and the energy in the team and the way we all work together is very positive,” says the seven-time world champion to Formula1.com.
“I’m enjoying driving the new car. In developing this car, I was able to play an important role last year through work in the simulator. It’s nice to see that some of my input has gone into the design of the car. I can now experience its positive effect.”
On his adaptation to the team led by Frederic Vasseur, he added: “It’s a huge difference [from Mercedes] and a massive undertaking. I believe that when people watch, they don’t understand how big the step is when you switch to a new team.”
“You can jump into the cockpit, but the key point is learning the new tools, especially in the context of a different culture and a different way people work, and reconciling this with your own way of working.”
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“If you look at last year, for example, it was the end of an era for a vehicle generation, and we didn’t make any further developments during the year.”
“So we were somewhat stuck at the level we had, which ultimately wasn’t good enough to fight for wins. But we learned so many lessons as a team from last year and are applying them this year, and that’s why the start has gone so much better.”
The 41-year-old driver joined the Maranello team in 2025 after spending twelve years at Mercedes, where he won six of his seven world titles.
After the Brit struggled to settle into the new team last year, he has made a strong comeback in 2026 and was able to secure his first podium finish with Ferrari in a Grand Prix at the Chinese Grand Prix.
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