Ferrari have had one critical ‘problem’ behind the scenes that Lewis Hamilton must help solve for 2026

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Lewis Hamilton needs to find another gear if he wants to compete for serious success with Ferrari in the future.

Sitting sixth in the drivers’ championship after half a season with the Italian manufacturer is hardly where he would have imagined he would end up, but it’s where he is.

A bold Ferrari gamble to change the fundamental concept of their car over the winter backfired, and left them as low as fourth quickest for the season-opener.

Upgrades have been effective since then, but Hamilton has endured some difficulty putting them to use on track, while teammate Charles Leclerc has excelled at times.

Hamilton raised three critical points in Ferrari documents and wants to see a few things tweaked in order to improve his team’s operation for 2026.

It has transpired that Ferrari have ‘experimented’ with Hamilton’s 2026 car in a bid to extract more performance. They still have another six months or so before project ‘678’ must hit the track.

READ MORE: Martin Brundle’s ‘lost an edge’ prediction about Lewis Hamilton has come true amid worst season ever at Ferrari

Ferrari have had a culture ‘problem’ that Lewis Hamilton must help solve for 2026

It’s no secret that the 2026 F1 regulations are going to be some of the most transformational changes the sport has ever seen.

Hamilton is now ‘leveraging’ Ferrari to receive more control of his strategies and destiny in races, which could be important for next year, too.

The more of his experience he can put to use, the better. After spending so many years winning at Mercedes, there’s a lot that he will have picked up that he can deploy at Ferrari.

According to BBC Sport, people have ‘witnessed’ a culture ‘problem’ at Ferrari for years, which has seen staff take a selfish approach to their work.

A ‘them or me’ mentality doesn’t work for teams fighting at the top of any elite sport, and Hamilton could be a big factor in turning that around. He’s great at rallying people around him.

READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton ‘is aware’ of how key F1 paddock figures rate his chances of winning an eighth title

Why Lewis Hamilton must desperately rediscover his greatest strength across the rest of 2025

It has now been more than 750 days since Hamilton last managed to secure a pole position. It came at the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix.

He used to be a qualifying supremo, but his one-lap pace has dropped off in recent times, and it puts him on the back foot heading into Sundays.

Hamilton must rediscover his greatest strength if he wants to compete again and end what has been a career-long streak.

Otherwise, he may be forced into a position where he is the true number two driver behind Leclerc, which is a position that no seven-time champion ever wants to be in.