F1 ‘insiders’ finally have some good news for Lewis Hamilton about Ferrari’s 2026 car

Follow us on Google Discover

Lewis Hamilton knows the 2026 season is likely to define his Ferrari career. Any hope of winning the world championship this year was extinguished rapidly.

Ferrari scored just five points at the opening round of the season in Australia, and while Hamilton won the Sprint in China, the Scuderia were anonymous in the Grand Prix before a double disqualification.

Engineers had to raise the ride height of the SF-25 to avoid excessive plank wear going forward, and they’ve spent the rest of the season trying to correct that fundamental design error.

Even if Ferrari had provided a contending car, it’s doubtful that Hamilton could have maximised it. He has been outclassed by teammate Charles Leclerc and, more than any other driver, will be relishing the end of the ground-effect era.

Ferrari expected to be ‘class leaders’ in engine department for 2026

Hamilton’s Ferrari contract expires at the end of next year, though he has an option to extend it to 2027. The appetite to continue will hinge on the team’s competitiveness, as well as his own.

The scale of the regulation changes makes it more difficult than ever to predict the pecking order. But speaking on a YouTube stream for the sport’s official channel, Lawrence Barretto relayed the encouraging noises he was hearing from the paddock.

The power units will be overhauled this winter as the sport goes 50% electric and pivots to sustainable fuels. ‘Insiders’ believe Ferrari and Mercedes will be ‘the class leaders’.

This could give them an advantage over Red Bull, who are building their own engines for the first time, and the ‘dream team’ at Aston Martin, supplied exclusively by Honda. Audi will also be entering the sport as they acquire Sauber.

Barretto said: “[Cadillac] have got a Ferrari power unit, which, if you talk to insiders in the sport, they’ll tell you that it’s most likely, with Mercedes, going to be one of the class leaders, just because of their experience, and history says that they have done a good job making that power unit.”

Sergio Perez explains why Lewis Hamilton will be back next year

Hamilton desperately needs some reason for optimism after entering the summer break at one of the lowest points of his career. He’d called himself ‘useless’ and admitted that Ferrari should replace him.

F1 veteran Pat Symonds believes the 2026 cars will suit Hamilton’s driving style. This, combined with a ‘class-leading’ power unit, could be a recipe for a triumphant final chapter.

Sergio Perez, who will drive for Symonds’ Cadillac team, is ‘sure’ that Hamilton will ‘figure it out’. He attributes this season’s issues to a prolonged adaptation phase after 12 seasons at Mercedes.

Jolyon Palmer believes Hamilton can be as good as Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel, who each racked up double-figure race victories at Ferrari. He’s still determined to go one better, though, by becoming a champion at Maranello.