Lewis Hamilton feels ‘winning mentality’ at Ferrari ahead of new F1 season
Lewis Hamilton says he can feel a strong winning mentality at Ferrari as the team builds towards the 2026 Formula 1 season.
The seven-time world champion was speaking after a positive week of running at the Barcelona Shakedown, where Ferrari worked through its programme with few problems.
The positivity surrounding Maranello
Hamilton, who joined Ferrari last year after a long and successful spell with Mercedes, described the mood at the Italian team as “incredibly enthusiastic” and said everyone was focused on improvement.
“It’s been a really enjoyable week, honestly,” Hamilton said. “I think a huge amount of work over the winter, on my personal side, but what the team have done over the winter to make changes going into the test,” he added.
The Briton also praised the reliability of the car during the shakedown, with Ferrari able to complete a high number of laps without interruption.
“To see the mileage that we’ve been able to get the last couple of days due to just so much great work from all the people back at the factory, which I’m really grateful for because having consistency, not having problems.”
Hamilton on the ‘winning mentality’ at Ferrari
While he admitted there are always areas to improve, Hamilton said the lack of major issues stood out.
“Of course, there’s always small things, but we didn’t really have any downtime moments. I’m sure they could potentially come over the next weeks, but otherwise just a really, really solid couple of days.
“We definitely have work to do to improve, of course, like everybody does, but I think we’ve had great debriefs, everyone’s really on it - I really feel the winning mentality in every single person in the team more than ever, so it’s a positive.”
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The Barcelona Shakedown was the first chance for all teams to run the new 2026 cars on track, under the sport’s updated regulations.
Ferrari used the sessions to gather data and build confidence in its SF-26 package. Hamilton and team-mate Charles Leclerc completed many laps over the week without major issues, suggesting the car is reliable early in the pre-season programme.
Hamilton also talked about how the new generation of F1 cars feels on track. He said the latest rules have made the cars “a little bit more fun to drive,” which has helped bring enjoyment back to the testing.
Hamilton struggled to reach the podium in 2025, his debut season with Ferrari, and it was a season that did not match his own high standards. But his comments in Barcelona point to renewed energy and optimism within the team as they approach the new campaign.
Ferrari’s chief goal now is to turn the positive start at Barcelona into real race-weekend performance when official pre-season testing begins in Bahrain next week and later when the season gets underway.
Hamilton’s experience and belief in the team’s direction will be key if Ferrari is to challenge for wins and titles in 2026.
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