Lewis Hamilton F1 News You will never guess what Ferrari star got up to before the Chinese Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton is pictured in front of a Chinese flag — Photo: © IMAGO

Chinese Grand Prix

You will never guess what Lewis Hamilton got up to before the Chinese GP and it is adorable!

China is where Hamilton last stepped on the podium with Ferrari

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Thursday 12 March 2026 22:43

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Seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton has spent his limited time off between the Australian and Chinese Grands Prix taking part in a precious pastime.

The Ferrari star enjoyed a relatively positive start to the 2026 F1 championship last time out when he finished P4 in the Australian GP, just one place behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.

But with the Monegasque racer having already picked up his first podium of the season, Hamilton will be eager to return to Shanghai with a bang having suffered a mixed weekend their last year.

Article continues under video

And it appears as though he has been taking a very relaxed approach to his race preparations, meeting some adorable companions along the way as he and his mother headed to meet some bunnies ahead of a very busy race weekend.

Prior to the second round of the season in China this weekend, one fan took to social media platform 'X' to share a heartwarming video of Hamilton, writing: "Lewis posted on 抖音 [the Chinese version of TikTok]

"Made some cute new friends today!"

Along with the caption was an adorable clip of Hamilton and his mother, Carmen Larbalestier, who was present in the Ferrari garage last weekend in Melbourne to support her son.

The pair could be seen doting on a nest of rabbits, with Carmen stroking them as they huddled around her whilst Hamilton petted their incredibly soft-looking fur and fed them plenty of carrot sticks.

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A calm mindset it exactly what the 41-year-old needs ahead of a hectic sprint weekend, where he will be looking to right a wrong after a disappointing result in China last season.

At the 2025 Chinese GP, the British icon celebrated his first win in red, standing on the top step of the podium after winning the Chinese GP sprint. But on Sunday, he was bested by Leclerc and could only manage to cross the line in P6, before the Scuderia then suffered a devastating double disqualification due to the skid block being below the minimum required thickness of 9mm on both of their cars.

The former Mercedes star now has two chances to redeem himself having failed to step on the podium in either a sprint or a full-length grand prix since the 2025 race weekend in Shanghai, as the days since his last race win continue to roll on.

The Ferraris looked quick at the season-opener last time out, with Leclerc jumping from P4 straight up to P1 after lights out in Melbourne, with Hamilton joining him in the top three after both cars showed off their lightning race start.

When is the next F1 race?

Hamilton will be back in action with Ferrari for the second round of the F1 2026 season at this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix.

The main race will take place on Sunday, March 15, at 3pm local time (CST), 7am GMT, and 3am ET, but Shanghai will also stage the first of six sprint races this year, with a full sprint schedule in play for this weekend.

F1 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari Shanghai International Circuit