Ferrari F1 2026 Season Preview: Lewis Hamilton can finally win record eighth title

Ferrari have been the butt of the joke in Formula 1 for quite a few years now, sadly much of it self-inflicted as they find new ways to shoot themselves in the foot season after season.

Not even Lewis Hamilton could turn that narrative around in his first campaign for them in 2025 having made the shock decision to leave Mercedes, with the Brit suffering his worst season in the sport by going the whole year without a podium for the first time ever and being soundly beaten by team-mate Charles Leclerc.

However, while 2025 was a bruising one for Ferrari, a far more promising winter gives them hope that they can come out as a title challenger in 2026. We’ve been here before of course…

READ MORE: Red Bull F1 Season Preview: Verstappen and Ford could pull off a miracle

Who are the Ferrari drivers in 2026?

Lewis Hamilton will once again be behind the wheel of the Ferrari along with the ultra-quick Charles Leclerc in their second season together in the team. Hamilton of course has a joint record seven world championships along with Michael Schumacher, having won six of those between 2014 and 2020 when Mercedes were totally dominant in the sport. However, after losing his title in 2021 race wins have been much harder to come by - he hasn’t won any of the last 34 grands prix going back to Belgium in 2024.

Leclerc meanwhile also had a winless 2025 but was by far the more impressive driver, scoring seven podiums. The Monegasque has already impressed in pre-season, setting the fastest time in the final test in Bahrain and he has proven in the past (the first half of 2022) that in a competitive car he can get the better of Max Verstappen. Leclerc is also settled at Ferrari, having been racing for them since 2019.

Where did Ferrari finish in 2025?

Lewis Hamilton finished in 6th place with 156 points in the drivers’ championship, and while Charles Leclerc was only one place above in 5th, he ended the year with a huge 86-point advantage over his team-mate. Ferrari never looked like becoming a major force during the campaign and were a distant 4th in the constructors’ championship - their second worst result in 10 years.

Who is the Ferrari team principal?

Fred Vasseur is the Ferrari team principal and has been in the role since 2023. The last two Ferrari team principals in Mattia Binotto and Maurizio Arrivabene lasted four years, so if Vasseur continues beyond 2026, he will be the longest serving Ferrari boss since Stefano Domenicali (2008-2014).

Vasseur has had a mixed tenure, and there were rumours of him being replaced by Christian Horner last season. However, despite a poor 2025 he has ridden out the storm and looks to have his team heading in the right direction. Crucially for Vasseur, he has a positive relationship with both Hamilton and Leclerc.

Do Ferrari have new tricks?

You bet. The team have designed a new rear wing that flips fully over. Now, F1 teams have been making the rear wing stall to create less drag to deliver more top speed for 15 years now, but this is different. Instead of the wing slightly lifting back to reduce the air resistance, it flips fully over creating even more of an air gap, you can see it in action here. This reduces drag further and in theory creates even more top speed. Ferrari tested it in Bahrain but are still unsure of how to use it to best effect, so it may not be seen in Australia at the first race but it does look like it will be on the car again very soon.

What about their ‘rocketship’ starts?

One of the most eye-catching things to come out of testing was how fast Ferrari can pull away from a standing start. The new rules (technical chat incoming) mean Ferrari have nailed the regulations better than anyone in that they do not need to charge their turbo engine for as long on the line to get an ideal start. Watch it for yourself here. Even with an FIA rule change that has allowed a longer delay to starts, Ferrari still have an advantage. Even if they qualify something like P4, don’t be surprised if they have a clear lead heading into the first corner.

It’s not all going to plan though

Hamilton may be more in tune with the Ferrari than ever, but if there is one thing the team have fumbled this winter, it’s finding him a new race engineer. This is a crucial role for an F1 driver as a good personal race engineer is often one of the driver’s closest relationships in the team.

The link-up with Riccardo Adami last season was a disaster as it was quite clear very quickly there was no chemistry between the two - even worse, the barbs they would exchange on team radio made quite awkward (yet gloriously entertaining) listening. That it lasted until the end of the season was baffling in itself, as was the decision to split the pair well beyond time more than a month later.

Cedric Michel-Grosjean, previously of McLaren, had been linked with the role but for now, Kimi Raikkonen’s former race engineer Carlo Santi has stepped in for at least the first few races. Early signs are positive though, and it would be no surprise if Santi is kept on permanently if Hamilton feels the combination is correct. If there is one thing the 41-year-old needs this year, it’s stability.

The biggest reason to hope

Ferrari were one of the best teams in testing, and while the old trope that ‘you can’t take any notice of testing times’ does have an element of truth to it, there have been no negative signs coming out of the team and plenty of concern from others, fearing Ferrari might have actually got this correct. If times are still not your thing, take something more concrete like the engine - which has proven to be fast and reliable.

The biggest reason to worry

This is Ferrari. If any team knows how to squander an advantage it’s the ragazzi from Maranello. Since their last championship win in 2008(!) they have found peculiar ways to throw away titles. Whether it’s ridiculous pit strategy or going the wrong direction in development, we have seen plenty of bright Ferrari starts to a season collapse like house of cards when things hot up at the business end. Take the downward spiral title charges of Sebastian Vettel in 2017 and 2018, or Charles Leclerc in 2022. Also, who can forget the time they thrashed everyone in 2019 pre-season, only for the first race of the campaign to result in a Mercedes one-two finish with Verstappen third. Too often you know the punchline before the end of the joke.

Ferrari prediction

In spite of me poking fun at the annual Ferrari circus. This really could be their year. Lewis Hamilton will never get a better chance to win a record eighth world championship. But he has a Charles Leclerc shaped problem. Leclerc made little work of the British star in 2025 and looks slightly quicker again based on admittedly flimsy evidence of pre-season. Also Hamilton isn’t getting any younger. Biology isn’t kind to peak performance athletes as they enter their 40s, so Hamilton will have to hope he hasn’t lost too much of his best to put up a title fight. If anyone can though, Lewis can. If he can’t then Leclerc is the man to deliver in the Year of the Horse.

Latest F1 odds for 2026

• Charles Leclerc to win the drivers’ championship: 6/1
• Lewis Hamilton to win the drivers’ championship: 8/1
• Ferrari to win the constructors’ championship: 7/2

Ferrari fun fact

Ferrari are the only team in Formula 1 to have competed in every single season of the world championship stretching back to its first year in 1950. They have the most drivers' titles with 15, the most constructors' championships with 16 and the most race wins with 248. There is no greater team in F1.

When was Ferrari’s last world championship?

Kimi Raikkonen is the last Ferrari driver to win the drivers’ world championship in 2007, pipping McLaren drivers Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso by just one point after the final race at the Brazilian Grand Prix. Ferrari’s last world title overall came with the constructors’ championship in 2008, despite their driver Felipe Massa being beaten at the final corner to the drivers’ title by McLaren’s Hamilton.

READ MORE: 'He's driven off with a different woman!' F1 fans react to Charles Leclerc's secret wedding

Related