Lewis Hamilton looks back with satisfaction on his first kilometres in the SF-26. The Brit spent several days last week at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, just like his fellow Formula 1 drivers, and on Friday laid down the fastest time of the week. Hamilton even detects a ‘winner’s mentality’ at Ferrari after the first proper test for the brand-new 2026 challenger: ‘The new generation of cars is actually a bit more fun to drive.’
The shakedown in Barcelona is over, and Lewis Hamilton can look back with satisfaction on his first kilometres in the SF-26. The Brit set the fastest time on Friday — the final day of the test week — a 1:16.348. The seven-time world champion was the second driver of the week — after former team-mate George Russell — to dip below 1:17.000. Although times at this stage of the preseason don’t tell the full story, Hamilton is happy with his first impressions of his 2026 car.
“We obviously still have work to do to improve, like everyone else, but I think we’ve had good debriefs,” Hamilton said after the final test day in Barcelona. “Everyone is really focused. I feel a winners’ mentality in everyone on the team more than ever. So that’s positive.”
Still, the seven-time world champion doesn’t want to get ahead of himself. He knows that Ferrari still has a big job to do to fully understand the brand‑new car. “I mean, we’re not under any illusions — we still have work to do,” he continues. “Mercedes also performed very well and I think Red Bull and Haas did well too. So we don’t really know where we stand, but I think it’s a solid first week and we can really build from here. But there may still be a few big steps we need to make.”
More enjoyable cars
Formula 1 is running under a completely new set of regulations this year. The cars, among other things, are smaller and lighter in 2026 than in previous seasons. For Hamilton these rule changes couldn’t have come soon enough, after he said at the end of 2025 about the previous generation of F1 cars: “There’s not one thing I’ll miss about those cars.” The seven-time world champion has been noticeably more positive so far about the SF‑25’s successor. “When it comes to understanding the car and the balance, we have much less downforce than in previous years,” Hamilton continues. “The new generation of cars is actually a bit more fun to drive. There’s more oversteer and sliding, but they’re slightly easier to keep under control. I’d definitely say they’re more enjoyable to drive.”
