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Lewis Hamilton rolled back the years as he put in a vintage performance to claim his first win in Ferrari colours, but one post-race decision showed that he will never be like Michael Schumacher during the German legend’s heyday with the Scuderia.
20 seconds was the margin between Lewis Hamilton and George Russell at the chequered flag at the Barcelona Grand Prix. Not only was it the first non-Mercedes Grand Prix winner this year, but it was also the biggest winning margin of the 2026 campaign so far.
Lewis Hamilton is now only missing a Grand Prix pole position for Ferrari 🏆 Predict when it will come?
The win saw the seven-time world champion eat into Kimi Antonelli’s championship lead by the maximum amount, with Italian F1 fans receiving a blessing and a curse at the same time as the 19-year-old agonisingly retired with just four laps to go.
The following round of racing in Austria will confirm if Ferrari are truly up to the task of taking Mercedes all the way in the title fight, but Hamilton has already made it clear that he will never be like Michael Schumacher even if he does surpass his title count.
- READ MORE: Piero Ferrari makes big Charles Leclerc prediction after Lewis Hamilton’s Barcelona GP win
Lewis Hamilton proves he will never be like Michael Schumacher by skipping Pirelli tyre test
In a recent report by Corriere della Sera, it was noted that Ferrari’s most recent race winner would not be sticking around in Barcelona for Pirelli’s post-race tyre test.
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Instead, duties will fall on Charles Leclerc’s shoulders, with his brother and Ferrari test driver, Arthur Leclerc, also taking part in the day of testing.
The Italian outlet’s report highlights a comparison between Hamilton and Ferrari’s most successful driver ever, Michael Schumacher, who would rarely relinquish the opportunity to get behind the wheel of one of the Prancing Horse’s F1 cars for a day of testing.
The Briton has come under fire in the past for his work ethic, with one former engineer who worked with both drivers highlighting how Hamilton simply isn’t the same ‘workaholic’ as Michael Schumacher.
That being said, it has become clear over Hamilton’s highly successful 20-year career in F1 that he relies more on his instincts in the moment, rather than utilising energy-taxing extra-curricular testing days or simulator hours.
This was evident after his P2 finish at last month’s Canadian Grand Prix. The 41-year-old fielded a number of questions regarding his use of the simulator, with Ralf Schumacher already a staunch critic of Hamilton’s hours on the tool.
- READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton will now be ‘rubbing his hands’ after George Russell and Kimi Antonelli incident
However, Hamilton has been in the form of his Ferrari career ever since. His runner-up finish in Montreal was followed by the same result in Monaco, before finally breaking his duck and claiming a maiden victory in red on Sunday.
Of course, if Hamilton continues to rack up strong results akin to what he’s been doing on recent race weekends, then Fred Vasseur and co certainly won’t mind his absence from some in-season tests.
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