Lewis Hamilton is gearing up for his second season as a Ferrari driver.

Lewis Hamilton could be set for another testing year at Ferrari (Image: Getty)

Lewis Hamilton will be desperate for the 2026 Formula One season to go better than his 2025 campaign did. The Ferrari man struggled on debut with the Italian team, failing to secure a single podium finish in any of the 24 races. With the new season also comes a fresh start for the drivers on the grid, as new engine regulations will see a shakeup to proceedings. Hamilton is hoping to benefit from the changes, with the Brit having opened up about the new Ferrari motor.

At the pre-season testing event in Bahrain, Hamilton told Sky Sports Italy: “I think it’s because of the way the track is at the moment, it’s very dirty, dusty and humid. There’s cross wind coming, you can see the flags flying. “Big tail win into turn one, turn four feels great, turn six, seven feels completely different between the two. Eight is okay, 10 can’t stop the car, it’s just all over the place.”

Commenting on personal changes Ferrari have made, he continued: “You don’t know what engine models everyone is on, so at the moment we’re just focusing on trying to learn as much as we can and get through the issues we have. But I’m happy to see the team is super focused…
“I’m grateful to have been a part of the development of this car and these next couple of tests. I’ll see some of the things I asked for last year, so I’m happy those have been implemented.”

However, Hamilton’s woes could be worsened as he heads into the new season, given the seven-time world champion will be competing with a new race engineer. It comes after a split with Riccardo Adami, with Hamilton thanking the Italian for his efforts.

Lewis Hamilton has split with his race engineer (Image: Getty)

He remarked: “Working with Riccardo was truly wonderful. Last year was a very tough one for all of us, and his patience and work discipline were incredible. For a race driver, the bond with his engineer is absolutely critical. Having to make such a change at the start of the season and adjust to someone new, a new voice, a new working style is, of course, a challenge.

“The ideal is to continue with a seasoned team that has known each other for years and weathered tough times together. However, rotations like this can happen within the team. Right now, I’m focused on building that bond with my new colleagues, and we’re doing our absolute best.”

It marks a fresh challenge for Hamilton, given the race engineers he’s worked with previously, he’s either known them beforehand, or like Adami, had been part of the team for some time. Carlo Santi is overseeing Hamilton’s runs during pre-season practice, with a new engineer set to be appointed midway through the season.