F1 2026: Lewis Hamilton now all smiles as 'winning mentality' is back at Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton now all smiles as 'winning mentality' is back at Ferrari

An insight into Hamilton's week of testing in Barcelona

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Saturday 31 January 2026 21:10

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Just in case a significant contingent of you were not glued to the screen trying to catch every crumb of information from F1's Barcelona shakedown, then you're in luck. Well, only if you're a fan of Lewis Hamilton.

After a 2025 season, legendary in its infliction of misery on the champion, Hamilton took to the track in Ferrari's SF-26, where new regulations and a new car offer the chance of a comeback for the champion. So, how did Hamilton get on?

The disappointing news is that, you can't really tell from a shakedown. Drivers and teams were mainly concerned with reliability, tyres and mileage, instead of chasing pure performance.

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But, do you want to know the good news? Hamilton was very impressed with all of the above in his SF-26.

Hamilton and Ferrari first took to the track on day two of testing (Tuesday), but this was in wet conditions and the seven-time champion only managed 57 laps in total.

Speaking after his first outing on Tuesday, Hamilton described it as 'very challenging', but also 'productive' and claimed there were no big issues just 'small little increments' for the team to improve on.

On Tuesday, Hamilton posted an (unofficial) time of 1:32.872 in the wet conditions, which meant he didn't quite get a feeling for the new car.

The 41-year-old finally enjoyed clear conditions and running on Thursday, interjected with a brief spin, where Hamilton reportedly completed 85 laps with Sky Sports listing his best time as 1:18.654.

More important than these numbers, however, were Hamilton's words after his first day of running in representative conditions. The seven-time champion appeared more relaxed and smiley, revealing he was most impressed with the mileage the team achieved on Thursday.

Hamilton stated that when drivers and team attend pre-season tests they always want to accumulate mileage, and said 85 laps were 'amazing', complimenting the Ferrari team back at the factory in Maranello for making sure the car was 'reliable'.

He then compared testing in 2026 to last year and said it was 'better than they have experienced in the past.'

Did I hear Hamilton set the fastest time of the Barcelona shakedown?

For the final day of the Barcelona shakedown on Friday, Hamilton's name did hit the headlines after the unofficial final lap times from the week were released by Sky. It is important to note that any data from the tests could change, as Sky have updated their timings and mileage graphics when new information has come to light.

However, at time of writing, it remains that Hamilton set the fastest time of the Barcelona shakedown on Friday. Again, with it being pre-season testing, you can't read into this too much. Yet, after attempting some qualifying runs on the C3 soft tyres, Hamilton managed to set a time of 1:16.348, a tenth of a second quicker than George Russell.

What was of note after Friday's testing, was Hamilton himself. Speaking in his final interview from Barcelona, the champion was a lot lighter and hopeful in his language, a far cry from the Hamilton we became accustomed to in 2025.

Hamilton started the interview by saying it had been a 'really enjoyable week', admitting how impressed he was by the mileage the Scuderia managed to accumulate - a total of 440 according to Sky, second only to Mercedes' 500.

"Having consistency, not having problems, we didn't really have any down time moments, which could potentially come over the next weeks, but otherwise just a really, really solid couple of days," Hamilton explained.

He also added, with a little more exuberance: "The car is actually a little bit more fun to drive, it's oversteery and snappy and sliding, but it's a little bit easier to catch and I would definitely say it is more enjoyable.

"But, 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."

Hamilton then said, surprisingly: "I really feel the winning mentality in every single person in the team more than ever. So it's a positive."

"Everyone's positive and incredibly enthusiastic. We're under no illusions. We've got Mercedes who have done great running as well. I think Red Bull and Haas did some great running as well, so we don't really know where we are. But, I think it's a solid first week and we can really build from here.

"Development is going to be key. Just making sure we leave no stone unturned and we're just really clear and concise in our communication and the decisions we take. It is going to take all of us to be at our best, and I'm just seeing that everyone's coming in with new energy this year, which is great."

F1 HEADLINES: Hamilton is back in P1 as Ferrari team-mate rings alarm bells

Written by

Sheona Mountford - F1 Journalist

Sheona Mountford is a motorsport journalist specialising in F1. As a writer and contributor, she covers a wide range of motorsport series from F1 to F1 Academy, responsible for breaking news, live race coverage and in depth analysis of the sport and the culture around it.

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F1 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari pre-season testing