Lewis Hamilton is longing for a good year in Formula 1. 2025 was a horror year for the British world champion and there were even rumors that he could retire before 2026. Those worries seem to have disappeared, because Ferrari’s testing days are going smoothly, Hamilton told the press after the Scuderia’s first test day.
The Ferrari team was not present on Monday when seven of the eleven teams did enter the track for a first day of testing. Until Friday, teams can test their car three out of five days and Ferrari chose to kick off on Tuesday, in humid conditions at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
In an interview with the media present, Hamilton explains how the first day of testing went for the Ferrari team. Charles Leclerc drove in the morning, when it was still partly dry, but Hamilton had to drive his first laps on a wet track.
“It was very challenging, it started raining at 10:30 am, so of course Charles could have ridden a bit dry”he said. “But then it was wet all afternoon, so it was very productive to figure out how to get the tires working properly.”
“I think we did 120 laps or so. Considering the wet conditions and the red flag – because of Isack Hadjar’s crash – I think that’s a pretty good result.”
“I’m very proud of everyone at the factory who got the car to this point. We’ve gathered a lot of information about the car today, we definitely have to keep this going. There’s still a lot to do, but it was a good first day.”
Earlier this month it was revealed that Hamilton would consider quitting Formula 1 before the 2026 season if the car disappointed during testing. The Briton has had a historically bad debut year at Ferrari and would not want to experience the same thing again.
The Brit could therefore pull the emergency brake if the SF-26 proves to be underpowered during the test days, but that does not seem to be the case. The seven-time world champion was already enthusiastic after the shakedown in Italy and is now enthusiastic again after the first day of testing in Barcelona.
