Lewis Hamilton opened his twentieth season in Formula 1 during the Barcelona tests, marking an extraordinary milestone in a career that has spanned multiple regulatory eras. Over such a long period, the seven-time world champion has personally experienced numerous technical revolutions in the sport. “I have the privilege of being here for a very long time and of having driven cars from many different generations. I started in 2007, then there was the change in 2009, the one in 2014, and later the 2017 regulations. I’ve lived through many shifts in direction, but this one is the most significant. I don’t want to say too much about it for now, because I’ve only driven in the rain,” Lewis Hamilton explained.
Even so, the half-day of testing completed yesterday on a wet track allowed Lewis Hamilton to draw some early conclusions. “You can feel that we have much less aerodynamic load compared to last year, and that also shows in terms of stability. There are definitely positive aspects, but above all there is a huge challenge ahead of us, for everyone, for every team, and I think that’s a fantastic situation.”
“It puts everyone on the defensive. At the moment we’re all on high alert, but we’ll learn as we go. Whoever manages to develop their car the fastest and proves to be the smartest in optimising time and energy will rise to the top. This gives everyone the opportunity to reach the top, and that’s a positive thing,” he added.
During yesterday’s running, Lewis Hamilton completed more than fifty laps, although he did not have the chance to run on slick tyres. That opportunity was instead available to Charles Leclerc, who enjoyed around an hour and a half of dry running during the morning session. “It started raining at 10:30, so Charles was able to do some laps in dry conditions, but in the afternoon the rain never really stopped. We started working on understanding how to get the tyres to work, and it was really productive.”
“Among the positive aspects is certainly the total mileage covered during the day: 120 laps. Considering the conditions and a stoppage due to a red flag, I think it was a pretty solid result. I’m really proud of everyone who worked back at the factory to have the car ready for these tests. That allowed us to start gathering a lot of information about the car. We need to keep going like this, there’s still a lot, a lot to do, but it was a good first day,” Lewis Hamilton said.
Leclerc and Hamilton will alternate on track over the remaining two days of testing, following a very intense programme. “I hope I can try the car in dry conditions,” Lewis continued, “because we’ll focus on understanding the balance and the new SLM (Straight Line Mode), which we’ll need to become familiar with. Its use will be crucial. We’ll have to understand how to deploy the power, how to manage the battery during the lap and its recharging. We’ve already done a lot of work in the simulator, so it’s not completely new for us, but we’ll analyse the data we collect during our sessions to optimise it.”
As the 2026 era of Formula 1 begins to take shape, Lewis Hamilton’s early feedback highlights a sport in transition, where reliability and technological adaptation like the new Straight Line Mode will define the pecking order. With Ferrari showing strong initial durability by logging 120 laps on day one, the foundation for the season ahead appears promising, even if the true performance of these low-downforce machines remains partially hidden by the Barcelona rain.
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