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Lewis Hamilton completed 142 laps across his first two days of running in the 2026 Ferrari at Barcelona. At this stage of the winter, nothing beats pure mileage.
Hamilton drove the Ferrari in wet conditions on Tuesday before his first meaningful dry running on Thursday. The team are allowed three days of running under the Shakedown rules, and they have split each of those between their two drivers.
Fans are anxious to see whether the SF-26 is a genuine upgrade on its troublesome predecessor. Hamilton failed to score a single podium last year and never looked comfortable in the car for a sustained period.
Are Ferrari making a mistake giving Cedric Michel-Grosjean his first race engineer role as Lewis Hamilton’s No2?
Cedric Michel-Grosjean looks set to be Riccardo Adami’s replacement
The 41-year-old is currently without a permanent race engineer after Riccardo Adami was reassigned, but there are rumours that Ferrari have signed Cedric Grosjean, a former McLaren employee.
Lewis Hamilton repeatedly struggled through the same corner during Barcelona Shakedown
The Barcelona test is taking place behind closed doors, but members of the F1 media have found vantage points overlooking the circuit. One of them, content creator Ekaitz Gil, was able to get a clear view of turn 10 during Thursday’s action.
The recently reprofiled left-hander is one of the trickier bends on the circuit. It tests a car’s handling through long-radius corners, a weakness for Ferrari in the past.
Hamilton had an unusual spin on the exit of turn 10, and Gil said that wasn’t the only trouble he encountered. He also ran wide on two or three occasions – one of which was captured on camera – and seemed to be struggling with oversteer.
Change my mind: Lewis Hamilton is the F1 driver who has to improve the most in 2026
Clearly, Hamilton is still adapting, not only to the Ferrari but also to the 2026 generation of cars. That’s what testing is for, and the team are likely experimenting with different setups, too.
Still, it’s noteworthy that, in the opinion of Gil, Hamilton ‘suffered the most’ out of any driver through that corner. He was joined on track by Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson and Cadillac’s Sergio Perez.
What has Lewis Hamilton actually said about the new Ferrari?
A report from the Italian press this week claimed Ferrari have been led by Hamilton in their 2026 development choices. There was a school of thought last year that they weren’t taking his feedback seriously.
James Hinchcliffe says Hamilton has the most to prove of any driver this season, and if the SF-26 is more suited to his preferences, then there will no longer be any excuses.
Hamilton’s first impressions of the Ferrari have been largely positive. He welcomed the lack of porpoising, a phenomenon that arose during the previous rules cycle.
The British driver also noted that the cars had ‘a lot less downforce’ this year, though this was expected. He called the new regulations ‘massively challenging’, in a good way.
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