Lewis Hamilton: What’s behind the Ferrari driver’s resurgence after Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix win? | F1 News

Lewis Hamilton returned to victory lane for the first time in almost two years after taking his first Grand Prix win for Ferrari in Barcelona on Sunday.

The 41-year-old endured a difficult 2025 as he went through an entire season without standing on the podium for the first time in his Formula 1 career.

Hamilton has returned to form this season and could pose a serious threat to Kimi Antonelli in the title race, just 41 points behind the teenager after seven rounds. So what has led to this recent Hamilton resurgence, which has been more than a year in the making?

New 2026 F1 car rules

The previous Ground Effect F1 cars from 2022 to 2025 can be seen as an outlier in Hamilton’s career as he struggled to fully come to grips with a car that drivers could not rush and maneuver, instead requiring a smoother driving style.

In his final season at Mercedes in 2024, Hamilton was largely out-performed by teammate George Russell, although he did take two wins at the British and Belgian Grands Prix, and it was a similar story against Charles Leclerc in 2025 at Ferrari where the deficit was often larger.

But, the more nimble and narrower 2026 cars revert to previous technical rules where a more aggressive driving style is rewarded and that seems to be helping Hamilton.

Immediately, he was able to accelerate the car visibly during pre-season testing and was a match for Leclerc in terms of pace at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

“From the word go in the Barcelona shakedown, he said, ‘This thing actually speaks to me, I can read what it’s going to do, I like the way it spins’ and he responded well to that,” said Sky Sports F1By Anthony Davidson.

He claimed his first Ferrari podium at the second round in China before two weekends off in Japan and Miami which prompted some questions, perhaps even from Hamilton, about whether he still had “it” – “it” primarily raw speed.

The pressure was on going into May’s Canadian Grand Prix, an event where Hamilton enjoyed huge success and he surpassed Max Verstappen for the second time with his best Ferrari result.

A second place in Monaco followed, which was all the more impressive as he overtook Leclerc in the Monegasque driver’s home event, returning to a true form that has built up over 18 months at Maranello ahead of his superb drive in Barcelona on Sunday.

“They (the team) have been so kind. You come back to the garage after a hard race and they just say, ‘don’t worry, next time’, they’ve been very supportive through it all,” said Hamilton.

“But for sure, a result like this changes everything and for sure, if there is a lack of confidence, everything is restored. And I hope that it was a convincing gap and race, but I think it has been happening in the last few races.

“The changes I wanted and pushed for last year have been made and now I have the right team around me, I now have the right car around me and now I can start doing what I can.”

Input in 2026 car

Hamilton described 2025 as a “building year” and believes part of the reason for his struggles was coming into a new outfit with a completely different culture from his previous Mercedes and McLaren teams.

The British driver also had no say in last year’s Ferrari where he was able to point the Scuderia in a direction with their 2026 machine.

“The team really listened and worked really hard to add performance and be innovative,” said Hamilton, who has spent less time in the simulator over the past two months.

“This year is about innovation. We came out with the bit on the rear exhaust. We came out with what else, the rear wing, the Macarena. That’s what I wanted last year.

“It was like, this team has to be leaders in this and they’ve shown they can and they will.”

Hamilton joined Ferrari just three months after Loic Serra joined the team as chassis technical director. Similarly to Hamilton, Serra did not have full control of the 2025 car’s chassis but led the development of the current SF-26.

The Frenchman was at Mercedes during Hamilton’s championship-winning years and was performance director of the 2020 Silver Arrows, one of the most influential cars in F1 history.

This technical prowess has translated into a 2026 Ferrari F1 car that is well-suited to benchmarks in corners and Hamilton’s driving style.

Italian bono

In a key change ahead of his second season at Ferrari, Hamilton’s engineering team is now led by Italian race engineer Carlo Santi, who replaces Riccardo Adami.

Hamilton famously worked with Peter ‘Bono’ Bonnington throughout his time at Mercedes, the pair forming the most successful driver-engineer combination in the sport’s history. In contrast, the Hamilton-Man dynamic was far less smooth, especially in team radio discussions, last season.

This year, communication between Hamilton and Santi has been much smoother and clearer, with the seven-time world champion team rarely disappointed on the radio, even during difficult sessions.

The Hamilton-Santi combination was originally an interim appointment but Sky Sports News Hamilton’s engineer, who he calls the “Italian Bono,” has no plans to make any changes, I learned earlier this month.

“We didn’t know each other, we never spoke and I didn’t really know anything about him,” Hamilton said.

“It’s great to be able to connect with an engineer other than what I had before. I’ve had it for so long and then you lose that feeling because Bono is doing it now with Kimi (Antonelli).

“He’s very, very quiet. You can tell it’s hard for him to express his emotions. He’s just hilarious and, I’m giving him this big hug and pulling him in to say ‘thank you.’

Hamilton is off track

Hamilton revealed he had carried an injury for most of 2025, following a major crash during pre-season testing, and was “unplugged from the matrix” after the season to reset himself.

He said: “I’ve spent a lot of time with family, a lot of time with friends, real people who know me, who have never doubted me, have stuck with me all my life.

“I’ve only been on mission since Christmas Day. The training I did was harder than I’ve ever experienced, keeping myself in good shape, because I was injured at the beginning of last year and carried it for a few months.

“I know to never second-guess yourself, to never doubt yourself. You basically have to believe in yourself. And those are the things I’ve been able to re-apply in my mindset. I’ve rewired my mind in the moment, to get myself back to where I was.”

Hamilton also admitted “I’m happier in my life too,” which is partly down to his relationship with Kim Kardashian.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has been Hamilton’s boss for more than a decade and feels this is having a positive impact.

“I saw him on the podium, on television, that face shows me that he is very happy. Maybe the girlfriend will help!” He said

“(It) helped me get a partner that you have a stable family life, and they seem to be getting on really well.

“I think it’s all those factors that combine the emotional and personal and professional perspective. If they’re in a good place, you win.”

Formula 1’s European season continues with the Austrian Grand Prix on June 26-28, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports now – no contract, cancel anytime