Lewis Hamilton's 'simple' F1 fix to change Ferrari's fortunes

Lewis Hamilton

The 'simple' fix Lewis Hamilton brought to change Ferrari's fortunes

Hamilton is being heard at Ferrari

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Wednesday 24 June 2026 08:15 Updated: 08:50

When seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton announced his move to Ferrari, many expected great things from the Brit instantly.

Sadly, Hamilton's first year in red did not go according to plan, with the former Mercedes man publicly questioning the car he had been saddled with and at times, even his own abilities.

2026 is an entirely different story however and things have finally fallen into place at Fred Vasseur's Italian team.

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At the Barcelona Grand Prix last time out, Hamilton brought an end to his 686-day grand prix win drought, sealing a victory for the first time with Ferrari.

But why did it take over a year for the 41-year-old to finally find his place at the Maranello-based squad?

Why it took a year for Ferrari to get 'full value' from Hamilton

Hamilton enjoyed 12 successful seasons with the Silver Arrows before switching to Ferrari, picking up six of his seven drivers' titles with Mercedes.

As a result, now that Hamilton's impact at Ferrari is translating into improved track results, many are pointing to his experience at Mercedes as an explanation for how his expertise have helped Vasseur's team to change their entire philosophy to suit their new star.

But respected F1 journalist Mark Hughes thinks the true explanation around how Hamilton changed Ferrari is in fact much simpler.

Speaking on The Race podcast following Hamilton's win in Barcelona, Hughes weighed in on how he thinks Hamilton went about enacting change at the Italian marque, questioning the complexity of the Brit's approach.

“I don’t think it’s Lewis saying: ‘This is how you do it,’" Hughes began, instead pointing to a much simpler approach he believes Hamilton took.

"I think it’s Lewis saying: ‘This is what I need, and you’re paying me all this money. You’ve employed me and you’re putting one hand behind my back. What’s the point of that?

“‘If you want to get full value from me, and if I’m going to get anything from this partnership, this is what I need and it’s your job to give me it.’ And it’s taken a year to do that.

“So, yes, he’s definitely been a very important part of giving them the car where they’re at now.

“But I don’t think it’s like this all-seeing, super-wise wizard guru that it is sometimes portrayed as. It’s just pretty simple, really. It’s just saying: ‘I can deliver you much more lap time if you give me what I need, but you haven’t got it at the moment.’”

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