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Lewis Hamilton’s transformation at Ferrari has been attributed to a change in his mindset, but that’s not how Formula 1 works.
Some at Ferrari doubted whether Hamilton would ‘turn up’ for the 2026 season because his morale was so low at the end of 2025. But they saw a ‘totally different person’ when he returned from his winter training.
Remarkably, Hamilton is only 41 points away from matching his tally for the entire 2025 campaign. While that partly reflects Ferrari’s improvement, it also underlines his spectacular return to form, with four podiums and a win in the first seven races.
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To say that Hamilton is back because of a more positive mindset is reductive, even if there’s probably some truth to it.
His old boss, Toto Wolff, has often said in interviews over the years that F1 is about ‘physics, not mystics’, and Hamilton’s revival is a case in point.
The 2026 regulations better suit Hamilton’s driving style, as many predicted after the troubles of the ground-effect era. What’s more, Fred Vasseur ordered ‘radical changes’ to Ferrari’s car after requests from the seven-time world champion.
Crucially, the SF-26 is said to be more planted at the rear, improving Hamilton’s confidence behind the wheel significantly.
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Hamilton was also allowed to modify his brakes, switching from Brembo brake discs to Carbon Industrie. This has reignited his famous aggression on corner entry, and he can attack in the knowledge that the rear will stay planted.
Vasseur himself attributes the transformation to Hamilton’s input into Ferrari’s car design. He consistently made the point last year that their handling philosophy was alien to him.
Hamilton’s engineering team has been reshuffled, with Carlo Santi replacing Riccardo Adami and Cedric Grosjean arriving from McLaren.
Santi’s encouraging radio messages helped Hamilton en route to victory in Barcelona but, more importantly, it’s noticeable how little he complains about car balance over the radio compared to last year. Clearly, the work taking place off-track has been more effective in that regard.
There were moments last year when Hamilton felt he was making a breakthrough, as was evident from a cautiously optimistic demeanour in the media pen. But this would only last a race or two before the sullen interviews returned.
In F1, drivers are upbeat because they’re successful, not the other way around. Hamilton may have arrived at Maranello reinvigorated in January, but this would not have lasted if his mechanical changes hadn’t paid off.
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