Lewis Hamilton set for emotional Ferrari win, and it could come sooner than you think

Antonelli, Russell, Hamilton and Bono all embracing on the 2026 Chinese GP podium — Photo: © IMAGO

Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton set for emotional Ferrari win, and it could come sooner than you think

Lewis Hamilton struggled in 2025, but has been more convincing in 2026

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Saturday 11 April 2026 20:54

Having banished his Ferrari podium hoodoo so early into the 2026 season, Lewis Hamilton is now looking for his first F1 grand prix victory with the Maranello-based outfit.

Seven-time world champion Hamilton joined Ferrari at the beginning of 2025, but struggled for any kind of consistency, eventually finishing down in sixth in the drivers' championship without a single podium to his name, the first time he had gone a full season without a grand prix podium in his whole career.

The 41-year-old has started the 2026 season much better, however, and he and Charles Leclerc are enjoying driving a much more competitive Ferrari machine.

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Ferrari are clearly the second-best team in the sport, and that has led to questions as to whether they can challenge Mercedes for grand prix victories and maybe even the championship as the season progresses.

Hamilton finished 86 points behind Leclerc in 2025, and knows that any shot at a race win would likely mean having to outperform his team-mate throughout a weekend as well as holding off the Mercedes and McLaren drivers.

But BBC Sport pundits Alice Powell and Harry Benjamin have been pretty upbeat about Hamilton's chances of winning a grand prix, with Benjamin suggesting that a grand prix victory could come as soon as Canada in May.

Hamilton loves the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, winning at the track on seven occasions.

Asked if Hamilton will win a race in 2026 on the Chequered Flag podcast, Powell was more upbeat than fellow BBC F1 reporter Andrew Benson.

Benson said: "Look, I don't know. I don't have a crystal ball. Looking at it positively, Ferrari have had a pretty strong start to the season. They're down on overall power on their engine but they've got good starts as we've seen. They're getting into the lead of grands prix early on, they're not able to hold it at the moment. Their car appears to be a better chassis than the Mercedes.

"The big question for Ferrari, leaving aside Hamilton just for a second, is can they maintain a development curve that is comparable with the leading British teams, particularly Mercedes and McLaren? And that's where they've fallen short in the past. So there's a lot to prove for them there.

"And I think from Hamilton's point of view, yes, he's looked more convincing than he did last year for much of last year but he's still behind Charles Leclerc generally, his team-mate. So obviously to win a race, he's got to beat both Mercedes and Leclerc and that's without even wondering about Norris and Piastri and the McLarens. So it won't be easy is what I would say as a sort of conclusion."

Powell then weighed in: "It's not going to be easy, but I think he will. I think as Andrew touched on, their chassis is very good. They're just lacking in power. Hopefully they'll figure out ways and maybe with the FIA having this chat with all the teams, something might change that may allow them, but a little bit of luck could come into play.

"We know Hamilton has got a huge amount of talent and he has shown that he seems to be much more happier with the Ferrari that he's driving this year. So, I certainly think he is capable of winning a race, of course, but I think we'll see him on the top step of the podium this year. It'd be nice to see, be an emotional one, won't it?"

F1 commentator Benjamin was even more upbeat, suggesting a grand prix win could be just a few races away, predicting: "Canada this year." Benson agreed, adding: "He's awesome in Canada."

Ferrari's desperate search for a victory

Ferrari suffered a grand prix winless season last year, a miserable statistic for the most successful team in the history of the sport.

While they only have one team ahead of them in the F1 pecking order, Ferrari will want to ensure that they maximise any opportunity that they have to take a win, with McLaren beginning to catch up, and Red Bull likely to get their act together in the long term too.

This means trying to get ahead of the dominant Mercedes team, however; a tall order.

With the first ADUO (Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities) period not coming until the end of the Monaco GP weekend, there are limited changes that Ferrari can make to their power unit until then, but if they qualify for that then they will be able to bring huge upgrades from race seven in the season.

This could help them close the gap, particularly with Mercedes needing to change their power unit due to a now outlawed geometric compression ratio trick.

Written by

Sam Cook - Digital Journalist

Sam Cook is a talented young sports journalist and social media professional who now specialises in Formula 1, having previously worked as a football journalist and a local news reporter for a variety of different brands.

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