Eddie Irvine explains why Lewis Hamilton cannot yet be considered fully back to his best
Former Ferrari driver Eddie Irvine has expressed caution in declaring that Lewis Hamilton has returned to peak form, despite the seven-time world champion securing a podium for Ferrari in China. Irvine argued that Hamilton’s performance in Japan, where teammate Charles Leclerc clearly outperformed him, indicates that the Briton still has work to do to reclaim his previous dominance.
The Briton achieved his first podium as a Ferrari driver at the Chinese Grand Prix, finishing third after 26 races in the red car. This milestone ended the longest podium drought of his Formula 1 career, as he had not finished in the top three in the previous 27 races. The achievement suggested that Lewis Hamilton was adapting well to his new team and finding competitive rhythm under the 2026 regulations.
However, the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka offered a very different narrative. Hamilton struggled throughout the weekend and ultimately finished sixth, marking his worst result of the 2026 season so far. Leclerc, in contrast, achieved his second podium of the year with a third-place finish, adding to his P3 in Australia and P4 in China. Irvine believes that this performance by Leclerc quickly tempered any notion that Hamilton had fully regained his previous form.
Analyst Anthony Davidson had previously described Lewis Hamilton’s Chinese GP performance as “absolutely at his best,” highlighting that the Ferrari driver had shown glimpses of challenging for race victories once again. Yet Irvine observed that Leclerc’s consistent pace in Japan overshadowed Hamilton’s recent resurgence. According to Irvine, Leclerc outperformed Hamilton in every session during the Japanese weekend. In practice, Leclerc was faster than Hamilton by 0.085s in FP1, 0.134s in FP2, and 0.154s in FP3. In qualifying, the Monegasque extended the gap by 0.394s in Q1, 0.286s in Q2, and 0.162s in Q3, establishing clear superiority across the entire weekend.
Irvine explained to Italian daily newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport that Lewis Hamilton’s podium in China should not be assumed as a sign of consistent performance. He noted that while the Chinese circuit suited Hamilton well, Suzuka exposed challenges in adapting to the SF-26’s handling and highlighted Leclerc’s ability to extract maximum performance from the car. Irvine emphasized that Hamilton’s struggles to progress through the field in Japan, particularly being held up behind McLaren’s Lando Norris, contrasted sharply with Leclerc’s ability to compete with eventual race winner Andrea Kimi Antonelli and recover positions, including that of Oliver Bearman’s Haas. Hamilton’s sixth-place finish underlined his difficulties, while Leclerc secured a solid P3.
Despite this, Leclerc’s podium in Japan maintained Ferrari’s streak of scoring podiums in each of the first three races of the 2026 season. Meanwhile, Mercedes drivers George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli have dominated qualifying and races so far, securing all pole positions, Sprint victories, and Grand Prix wins in the season’s opening events.
Irvine also discussed Ferrari’s broader prospects for the 2026 season. While he believes that Ferrari has the potential to secure at least one Grand Prix victory, he remains cautious about their overall championship prospects. Ferrari have not won a Grand Prix since Carlos Sainz’s triumph in Mexico City in 2024, at the end of his tenure with the team before Hamilton replaced him in 2025. Irvine suggested that while the team’s competitiveness has improved, they are unlikely to dominate multiple races this year. He stressed that Ferrari still faces challenges due to the geographical distance from F1’s central hub in the United Kingdom and the ongoing development gap with Mercedes.
Irvine concluded that winning a race in 2026 is realistic for Ferrari, but added that claiming multiple victories or a championship would remain highly challenging. The Scuderia continues to chase its first drivers’ championship since Kimi Räikkönen’s 2007 title and its first constructors’ championship since 2008. Hamilton’s performance in Japan serves as a reminder that while he remains a formidable competitor, consistency at the top level is not yet guaranteed, and Ferrari must continue development to mount a credible challenge for both titles this season.
