Jolyon Palmer tips Lewis Hamilton to replicate Chinese GP heroics after ‘rocket start’ in Melbourne

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Lewis Hamilton’s only victory in Ferrari colours came in last year’s Chinese Grand Prix Sprint, and Jolyon Palmer is very optimistic that the seven-time world champion can replicate his feat after seeing the SF-26’s ‘rocket start’ in Melbourne.

Despite starting from seventh on the grid, Lewis Hamilton quickly fired himself up into podium contention thanks to Ferrari’s race start advantage from a smaller-than-usual turbo inside the SF-26.

Charles Leclerc also benefited greatly from the unique piece of kit. He launched himself up into first place at turn one from P3, before race strategy played its part and Mercedes nailed their first one-two finish since the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix.

The Monegasque actually led the opening portion of the race from eventual winner George Russell, who initiated a duel with Leclerc after being usurped off the line.

While Ferrari’s smaller turbo didn’t prove to be the difference maker for them over the course of a full Grand Prix distance, it could be much more promising over a shorter format.

• READ MORE: Marc Priestley saw a ‘brand new’ Lewis Hamilton race for Ferrari at the Australian Grand Prix

Jolyon Palmer thinks Lewis Hamilton could replicate his 2025 Chinese GP heroics

Despite their inability to take the chequered flag in first, Jolyon Palmer praised Ferrari’s encouraging start when looking forward to the upcoming races on a recent episode of the F1 Nation podcast.

He said, “It wouldn’t surprise me if they win the sprint because what they’ve got is a rocket start in their locker. And if they can qualify third and fourth, by all accounts, they’ll be first and second at the end of the first lap.

“This circuit (Albert Park) is an outlier in the calendar. It’s really difficult to recharge your battery, overtaking can be difficult because have you got any more battery to spare?

“But if you’ve got pace, you can be tactical with it. Play that game of chess. There’ll be some circuits where overtaking is actually really difficult. Reliability will get better, so we’ll see less safety cars.

“If Ferrari can then get to the front, and you’re having less variability with safety cars, and harder tracks to overtake on, you don’t even need the fastest car to win races at that point. I think they’re in a really great spot.”

As with most successful technical innovations, F1 engine manufacturers are likely attempting to replicate Ferrari’s smaller turbo unit for their own cars, but it’s a little bit more complicated than just swapping the elements around.

In fact, Juan Pablo Montoya thinks Mercedes will struggle to develop a similar kind of turbo in their 2026 power unit.

Any new developments will need to synergise with the rest of the engine, and there’s no guarantee that a smaller element would give Mercedes the same advantage as he has for the Scuderia.

• READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton and Arvid Lindblad miss out as F1 fans vote for Australian GP Driver of the Day

What do you expect from Lewis Hamilton in the 2026 F1 season?

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Jolyon Palmer is adamant that Lewis Hamilton will win a Grand Prix in 2026

Continuing with Palmer’s optimism for Ferrari in China, he also detailed how confident he is in Hamilton breaking his duck with the Prancing Horse and claiming a win in 2026.

He added, “It’s happening. I think Lewis Hamilton will definitely be on the top step this year, I’m not joking, I think he will.

“I think Ferrari have got a good car, and the race pace was much closer. They both underdelivered in qualifying, both drivers thought they should have been third, as a minimum.

“Obviously, the gap to Mercedes was whopping, but that’ll come down at other races. If we were racing in Bahrain, there’s no way Mercedes are eight tenths clear.”