Gerhard Berger has praised Lewis Hamilton for the way he has recovered from a difficult first season with Ferrari, with the seven-time world champion now firmly back at the front of Formula 1 and fighting near the top of the 2026 standings. The former Ferrari driver believes Hamilton has finally begun to emerge from the challenging situation that defined his arrival at Maranello in 2025.
The contrast between the two seasons has been striking. Hamilton endured a disappointing debut campaign with the Scuderia last year, failing to score a single Grand Prix podium and regularly struggling to match the pace of team-mate Charles Leclerc. By the 2026 summer break, however, the Briton had climbed to second in the Drivers’ Championship after securing one victory and four additional podium finishes.
Hamilton has also frequently shown stronger pace relative to Leclerc this season, underlining how much his position inside Ferrari has changed after a full year of adaptation.
Gerhard Berger praises Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari turnaround
For Gerhard Berger, who raced for Ferrari during two separate spells in Formula 1, seeing both the Italian team and Hamilton return towards the front has been particularly welcome. Berger explained that he was pleased whenever Ferrari was capable of winning, stressing the unique importance the team holds within Formula 1.
He was equally encouraged by Hamilton’s personal recovery. Berger acknowledged that the seven-time world champion had faced an extremely difficult period after arriving at Ferrari with the ambition of recreating the success he had enjoyed earlier in his career.
Instead, Hamilton immediately encountered challenges on two fronts. Berger pointed to the technical difficulties the Briton experienced with the car, while also highlighting the demanding benchmark provided by Leclerc, whom he described as a very fast team-mate.
Those factors contributed to what Berger considered a particularly tough 2025 campaign for Hamilton. In his view, however, the situation now appears to have changed, with the 41-year-old beginning to move beyond the problems that characterised his first season in red.
A full Ferrari winter helped Lewis Hamilton reset for 2026
Hamilton’s improved form has followed a full winter working with the Maranello team, something he did not have before his first Ferrari season. That additional preparation gave him greater opportunity to influence the direction of the car and help shape its characteristics around his preferred driving style.
The introduction of Formula 1’s new power unit regulations has also coincided with his resurgence. One area in which Hamilton has performed particularly strongly is energy management, an increasingly important aspect of extracting performance under the 2026 technical rules.
That combination has helped transform his competitive position. After going through an entire season without standing on a Grand Prix podium, Hamilton reached the 2026 summer break with five podium finishes, including a victory, and second place in the championship.
The improved campaign has nevertheless come with missed opportunities. Hamilton remains involved in a demanding title fight, and several costly moments have affected his championship deficit despite his much stronger overall performance compared with 2025.
Ferrari’s recovery has put Hamilton back in the championship picture
Hamilton’s resurgence has developed alongside a broader improvement from Ferrari. The Scuderia has become increasingly competitive during the first half of 2026, allowing both Hamilton and Leclerc to challenge much closer to the front than during the early stages of the previous campaign.
Ferrari team principal Frédéric Vasseur has nevertheless maintained that the team’s progress is not yet sufficient, with the Maranello squad still chasing Mercedes in the championship fight. His mid-season assessment of Ferrari’s 2026 campaign reflected the team’s determination to keep improving rather than treat its recent results as the finished product.
For Hamilton, the change in circumstances has been especially significant. Where 2025 was dominated by difficulties adapting to Ferrari and competing against a rapid team-mate, 2026 has restored him to a position where he can once again fight for major results consistently.
His current standing has also strengthened the wider case for Ferrari to consider how it manages its championship priorities as the season develops, particularly given Hamilton’s historically strong record after the Formula 1 summer break.
Berger’s assessment ultimately reflects that transformation. The Austrian believes Hamilton’s first Ferrari season was made especially difficult by both technical limitations and the challenge posed by Leclerc, but he now sees clear signs that the seven-time world champion has moved beyond that phase.
After one of the most difficult years of his career, Hamilton has returned to the front of Formula 1. For Berger, watching Ferrari win again while seeing the Briton rediscover his competitive form has made the 2026 turnaround particularly satisfying.
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