Hamilton assesses the SF-26 on Day 1 in Bahrain
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton reiterated his thoughts from Barcelona: the new cars are more enjoyable to drive, but overall they have less downforce, and today the wind was a major factor, making it difficult to find the right balance.
Hamilton had the pleasure of debuting the Ferrari SF-26 in the 2026 pre-season tests, held from today until Friday at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir. He completed a total of 52 laps—almost equivalent to a full Grand Prix (Bahrain’s race distance is 57 laps)—and posted the fourth-fastest time overall, just one second off Max Verstappen’s provisional best.
He tested the car in the most challenging conditions of the three-day session: a “green” track, un-rubbered, sandy, and gusty. These conditions even led to two harmless spins in the first two hours of the session.
“It’s still too early to give a full opinion on the car. In general, it has much less aerodynamic load. Sakhir is very different from Barcelona—there’s more sand and it’s hotter. So it’s much harder to find the right balance,” Lewis Hamilton said.
“It’s not easy to control the front and rear. There’s less downforce, the car is shorter and lighter. Actually, it’s easier to recover if you lose control. It’s pretty fun—it’s like rally driving. I mean, it really gives that sensation.”
Understanding the base SF-26
Unlike some teams, particularly Audi, Ferrari has not yet introduced major upgrades to the new car. The goal is to understand the car in its base configuration before gradually introducing components to improve performance.
“At the moment, these cars have nothing to do with the previous ones. With the base car, we’re still trying many different things, trying to find the window in which it performs best, how to optimize the tires, the aerodynamic package, ride height, mechanical balance—basically all of these aspects,” Lewis Hamilton explained.
“That’s why it’s difficult to say much more right now. Also, today there were very strong gusts of wind, which didn’t help. Plus, it was the first day at Sakhir, and mornings are never ideal. But overall, as I said in the last test, it’s a more fun car to drive.”
Energy management remains complex
One of the core challenges of the new Formula 1 cars involves the use of energy provided by the MGU-K, or KERS: 350 kW to manage at optimal moments to support the V6 engine. According to Lewis Hamilton, this will be difficult for F1 fans to fully understand.
“I don’t think any fan will truly understand energy management. It’s so complex, almost ridiculously so. In one day I had seven meetings where everything was explained in detail. It almost seems like you need a degree to fully grasp it,” he said.
“Regarding management, I’d say it’s fairly simple. Maybe it will be different in race configuration. There’s also a system that, once a lap is finished, learns your driving style. But, for example, if you lock a wheel and run wide, covering more distance, it affects the algorithm. We’re just trying to understand it and master it. But we’re all in the same situation.”
Using low gears to recharge the batteries
Depending on the track, drivers will adopt different strategies to recover energy and ensure the MGU-K has enough to deliver peak performance. In Sakhir, several drivers used very low gears—sometimes first or second—through slow corners to recharge the battery.
“The low gears we use depend on the fact that we can’t recover enough energy on entry. We don’t recover enough from the battery, so the engine revs very high. In some places, we drop down to second or even first to try to recover a bit more energy,” Lewis Hamilton explained.
“In Barcelona, for example, we did about 600 meters of lift-and-coast, which isn’t common. Here, we can’t do that because there’s heavy braking, so it doesn’t help. Plus, gear jumps are wide, and you end up in first gear. With low downforce, it’s clear many drivers struggle to maintain control. Today was really difficult, with a lot of sliding at the top of the timing sheets.”
Adjusting to a new race engineer
For the first time in a year, Lewis Hamilton is not working with his long-time race engineer Riccardo Adami. On the first day of testing in Bahrain, he reflected on Adami’s absence and the adjustment to a new engineer.
“My first year with Riccardo… it was a very difficult decision. I’m truly grateful for all the effort he put in last year and his patience. It was a tough year for all of us. This career is complicated, because if you don’t find the solution, sometimes you only have a few races to prove it,” he said.
“At the start of the season, I’ll have to adapt again, work with someone new—it’s something you have to deal with. Ideally, you want to enter a season with people you’ve worked with for years, sharing tough and good moments. This situation affects me too, but I’m trying to do my best. We’re working hard to find the best solution as quickly as possible.”
Day 1 in Bahrain therefore served as a rigorous baseline for Ferrari, showcasing both the “fun” raw potential of the 2026 regulations and the immense complexity of the new hybrid power units. For Hamilton, the focus now shifts to building chemistry with his new trackside team while taming a lighter, shorter car that demands a completely new driving style.
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