It was another impressive performance for Lewis Hamilton at the season opener in Melbourne this weekend to add another record to his collection. Hamilton, 41, is about to begin his 20th consecutive Formula One season. The seven-time F1 world champion has now surpassed Rubens Barrichello’s record and is now on his own. Of course, currently tied with Michael Schumacher for the championship, That is a leaderboard that continues to define his presence and momentum in the sport.
Hamilton posted his 20 not out record in typically excited fashion on Instagram this week. One thing’s for sure: if Ferrari can produce a car that’s as inspiring as Hamilton’s uplifting wave of pre-season social media posts, maybe the Briton can actually challenge for that elusive eighth title. “Twenty years later, I’m still here, still standing, still hungry, still focused on the dream,” he said. “No reservations.”
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Unparalleled passion is exciting. However, we’ve been here before.
Lewis Hamilton is about to begin his 20th consecutive Formula One season (Getty Images)
A year ago, Hamilton was all smiles in the Albert Park press conference room as he described his upcoming Ferrari debut as “the most exciting period of my life”. Then reality sets in and only F1 can put hard numbers on the timetable. He qualified eighth on the grid and ended up finishing 10th when the car slipped through his fingers in wet conditions. A week later, he was disqualified from the Shanghai Grand Prix along with teammate Charles Leclerc following a sprint victory in China.
From there, the tone was set for Hamilton’s worst ever season. No victory; no platform; despair. It’s not my words, it’s his words. “I feel bad, bad. This is the worst season ever,” he said towards the end of the season, when he was sixth in the standings, 267 points behind world champion Lando Norris. “No matter how hard I tried, it kept getting worse.”
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But luckily for TV pen interviewers and paper scribes, 2026 represents a fresh start for Ferrari and Hamilton. Had there not been regulatory changes, it is no exaggeration to say that Hamilton may have irrevocably thrown in the towel last year, sinking Britain’s greatest ever racing driver into such a slump.
But this year represents a new era. New engine, chassis, fuel and aerodynamics. As has been widely discussed, this season may essentially feature an entirely different sport, where energy distribution is as important as sheer racing speed. Max Verstappen described it as “Formula Electric” during pre-season testing.
If the top four teams – Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull (in order) – are as close as the test results are, the cunningest team will win. Hamilton appears.
Earth effect era That The controversial end of 2021 in Abu Dhabi was not kind to Hamilton. Beaten four times in a battle with teammates Leclerc and George Russell, it was painful to see how out of tune Hamilton was with the machine at his feet. However, these new, lighter cars do have the potential to favor Hamilton the most among all 22 drivers.
Hamilton missed the podium last season for the first time in his F1 career (Getty Images)
“I think his [Lewis’] “His style suits these cars better,” Williams driver Alex Albon said. “He keeps the corners very short. And he’s not focused on exiting. I don’t think that’s the worst thing about these cars.” There are a number of different tools available to the driver in the cockpit – “Overtaking Mode” replaces DRS, as well as “Active Aerodynamics” and “Boost Mode” – which appear to reward the driver who is most adaptable and best at providing ultra-specific technical feedback.
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With two decades of experience, it’s perfect for Hamilton.
No doubt there are still lingering concerns, not least whether Hamilton really still has the sheer pace of last year, especially when facing Leclerc, one of the fastest drivers in the sport on a single lap.
Hamilton’s race engineer’s situation is also hilarious. After rightly sacking Ricciardo Adami, the Briton will use ex-Kimi Raikkonen engineer Carlo Santi on a temporary basis for the first few races of the year, before McLaren’s ex-Oscar Piastri performance engineer Cedric-Michel Grosjean is expected to become his loyal assistant at the end of his notice period.
Ricciardo Adami (pictured) was sacked as Hamilton’s racing engineer earlier this year (PA Wire)
Angela Cullen will remain Hamilton’s personal trainer this season (Getty)
Frankly, Ferrari’s lack of forward planning in this regard is unimpressive, considering Hamilton’s partnership with Adami was evident from the start last year. Hamilton also lost close friend Mark Hines to Cadillac, but will continue to have personal trainer Angela Cullen by his side.
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But the reality is simple: if Ferrari’s race car, the SF-26, is competitive from the start of this weekend’s race in Australia, it won’t matter at all. A new phase of governance often begins with the leadership team taking the lead for years to come. Look at Mercedes in 2014 and Red Bull in 2022. This year, it’s fair to say that by race 11 at Silverstone in July we’ll know where Hamilton’s ambitions lie, whether or not he’s in contention for a race win at his favorite circuit.
What’s so tantalizing about the next few months is that they will likely define Hamilton’s final years. Hamilton, who seems content off the track, dating one of the most famous women in the world, Kim Kardashian, said with a smile at the end of testing two weeks ago, especially after the Ferrari raced off the track at the start of practice. Normally Ferrari would be looking there or there, with Mercedes being the early front-runner.
The consensus in the paddock was that Hamilton would be revitalized if Ferrari gave him a car capable of competing for the world championship. Then, a record-breaking eighth didn’t seem so whimsical. If they don’t, and Ferrari hasn’t produced a world champion since Raikkonen in 2007, it could accelerate the possibility of Hamilton truly saying goodbye to the sport he’s so obsessed with. We watched with bated breath from the sidelines.
