Seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton is slowly returning to his status as lead driver after a rough start to life at Ferrari.

The former Mercedes star made the decision to depart the Silver Arrows after the 2024 campaign but suffered a disappointing debut season with the Italian outfit in 2025.
After 24 races Hamilton came away from the championship without a single grand prix podium. But the 41-year-old has turned over a new leaf at Ferrari in 2026, shaping the team and taking control of not just his side of the garage, but the team’s mentality in general.
Ahead of this weekend’s race in Barcelona, the 105-time grand prix winner has already claimed three podiums in full-length races and has even moved up to P2 in the drivers’ championship after leapfrogging George Russell thanks to a P2 result in Monaco.
Things are finally starting to fall into place for Hamilton at his new home thanks to drastic changes, and he has even teased further innovation to come from the squad.
Hamilton on first year with Ferrari: ‘like banging your head against a wall’
Speaking to the media including GPFans on Thursday at the Barcelona Grand Prix, Hamilton was asked about last year being an emotional rollercoaster and whether it was nice to see things more settled now.
The seven-time champion replied: “I think itâs more to do with the fact that when youâre in a scenario where you know whatâs needed to improve and you shout it from the top of a mountain and it doesnât get done. Because it canât be done immediately or it canât happen until the next year because of the regulations. Itâs like banging your head against a wall and itâs tough.
“For example last year, one of the things I was like âwhere is our innovation? Ferrari should be the innovators, they should be the one all the teams are trying to copyâ”.
Hamilton then teased further advances for the Scuderia, adding: “This year, you see us arrive with innovative things other people have followed and thereâs a lot more innovation to come, which is really exciting.
“Now Iâm starting to see some of these things happen, and Fred has been really great helping me make the set-up changes that I wanted. And that releases you to go and do what you do best.”



