The Lewis Hamilton effect? Ferrari poach key talent off F1 rivals Mercedes

Ferrari have poached a staff member from Lewis Hamilton's old Mercedes team ahead of the 2026 season.

Hamilton joined Ferrari from Mercedes back in January, but he struggled to make any impact for the team in 2025, not even claiming a grand prix podium throughout the whole season.

The seven-time world champion finished down in sixth in the drivers' championship, and now faces a huge 2026 season, which is the final year of his Ferrari contract.

He will hope that the 2026 regulation changes will allow him to drive a different generation of car that may be more suited to his own supreme talents.

But, perhaps crucially, Ferrari's 2026 car development will be helped by the addition of a staff member from his old team Mercedes, who announced via LinkedIn that she has joined the Maranello-based outfit.

Giulia Zoppini has joined Ferrari as an aerodynamics specialist, following over two years spent with Mercedes, first as a graduate aerodynamicist, and then as an aerodynamicist.

Zoppini departed Mercedes last month, and will now get to work within Ferrari's aerodynamics team as a specialist.

Can Hamilton challenge for the championship in 2026?

In four full seasons since the last regulation changes back in 2022, Hamilton has only won two grands prix, and he ditched Mercedes at the end of 2024 in order to try and challenge further up the grid.

But Ferrari have been plagued by car inconsistencies in 2025, while Hamilton himself has struggled for form, particularly in qualifying.

The hope for Hamilton is that the 2026 cars are more suited to his talents than the previous generation of cars, and that he can reach the kind of form that saw him only lose the title at the final race of the season back in 2021.

On top of this, that regulation reset may well see Ferrari challenging further up the grid, with a shake up in the competitive order of the grid expected to happen as a result.

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