A transformed Lewis Hamilton has started the 2026 season, and the British driver confirmed his strong form by securing P3 in qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix while also praising the work carried out by the Ferrari engineers.
Saturday in Shanghai produced a historic moment thanks to Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who became the youngest pole-sitter in the history of Formula 1. But there was also another important story to highlight: the return of an old lion who, after a year in hibernation, seems to have rediscovered the enthusiasm of a young driver. Lewis Hamilton confirmed the strong performance he had already shown in Australia and, on the second day of the Chinese race weekend, secured third place both in the Sprint and in the qualifying session. Below are the words of the seven-time world champion at the end of the day.
The difficulties of 2025 now feel like a distant memory. The gloomy Hamilton who almost seemed to have lost the desire to race looks like a faded image from the past. Much of the credit goes to the Ferrari SF-26, with which Hamilton immediately found a good feeling from the very first pre-season tests. However, everyone knows that testing is one thing, while racing conditions are something completely different.
The opening weekend of the season, which ended with a fourth-place finish and with Lewis Hamilton closely following his teammate Charles Leclerc, only confirmed the positive first impressions. The second race weekend in China also started in the best possible way, with the Briton finishing third in the Sprint Race. When it came to qualifying, Lewis comfortably made it through both the Q1 and Q2 cut-offs, although the road seemed to become slightly more complicated after an unconvincing first attempt in Q3.
However, on his second and decisive attempt, Lewis Hamilton stopped the clock at 1:32.415, snatching third position from teammate Charles Leclerc by just 13 thousandths of a second. “It was a really tough qualifying session honestly, especially because of the wind,” the seven-time world champion said at the end of qualifying. “There are some really strong gusts today and putting a lap together was really difficult.”
With that result, Lewis Hamilton ended a negative streak that had seen him qualify behind his teammate Charles Leclerc for seven consecutive sessions. It must also be said that Shanghai has always been a circuit that suits him well, as demonstrated by the Sprint victory he achieved here in 2025, which remained the only real highlight of what turned out to be a disappointing season overall. To get definitive answers about whether the Hamilton of his best years has truly returned, it will be necessary to follow the development of the season. For now, however, more and more signs seem to be pointing in his favor.
“Charles did a great lap, these guys (referring to the two Mercedes drivers) are putting together some amazing laps and I’m really happy and very grateful to be here alongside those who have been unbeatable so far this year. But the engineers have done a great job and we managed to get a little closer to the Mercedes cars, and we’ll see if we can take another step forward.”
The British driver is clearly not satisfied yet, as his main goal remains matching the performance of the Mercedes W17. Hopes are being fueled by a Ferrari that seems to be getting closer and closer day after day. The eight-tenth gap seen in the Australian qualifying session was first reduced to six tenths during the Shanghai Sprint qualifying and then further cut to around three and a half tenths in the following day’s session. In this sense, the higher temperatures on Saturday also appeared to favor the characteristics of the SF-26.
Furthermore, when it comes to race pace, the gap between the Brackley machine and the Maranello challenger appears to shrink even further. Hamilton concluded the interview by throwing down the gauntlet to Mercedes ahead of Sunday’s race: “Regarding the race, it will definitely be a challenge, but I’m sure we’ll have fun. We already had a lot of fun during the Sprint and I can’t wait for tomorrow. Hopefully tomorrow there won’t be as much wind and our objective is to try to reduce the gap to Mercedes even further.”
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