“Snappy and fun”: Lewis Hamilton breaks down the handling of the new Ferrari SF-26. Lewis Hamilton shares his impressions of the Ferrari SF-26 after the Barcelona tests.

Does Hamilton like the SF-26’s driving style? His comments after testing and on the “winning mentality”

Lewis Hamilton shared his thoughts after testing the SF-26 in Barcelona. Does the seven-time world champion enjoy driving this new Ferrari? The British driver also spoke about the “winning mentality” within the team.

Hamilton completed the Barcelona tests yesterday, driving the SF-26 in the afternoon session. Ferrari accumulated a lot of laps, with Hamilton posting the fastest lap. But does he like the car? Here are his impressions.

As announced by Frederic Vasseur, Ferrari focused mainly on mileage to test the reliability of the new power unit. There were rumors that several teams were running fuels not yet fully homologated, but it’s unclear if Maranello was among them. Over three days, the SF-26 completed 440 laps. Ferrari also gathered extensive data thanks to its customer teams, Haas and Cadillac. For now, everything is calm, but Maranello faces a very intense week of analysis before heading to Bahrain.

Hamilton: “Oversteery, snappy, and sliding, but…”

“This generation of cars is actually a bit more fun to drive. It’s oversteery, snappy, and sliding, but it’s a little easier to recover and I’d say definitely more enjoyable. Of course, we still have work to do to improve, like everyone else. But I think we had excellent debriefs. Everyone is really focused. I really feel the winning mentality in every single team member, more than ever. And that’s positive. Everyone is positive and incredibly excited. We don’t fool ourselves; we know we’re not ready yet. There’s still work to do.”

Ferrari remains grounded. Lewis Hamilton seems to genuinely enjoy this new generation of F1 cars and hopes the SF-26 meets his expectations regarding driving characteristics. The complex energy management, active aerodynamics at both front and rear, different engine delivery, and lower downforce make these cars an uncharted territory that all drivers will need to adapt to quickly. Ferrari now awaits FIA approval to validate some components on the more aggressive version of the SF-26. The current version represents the base on which the Scuderia hopes to build a winning technical cycle.

Lewis Hamilton’s early praise for the Ferrari SF-26 suggests that the 2026 regulations have produced a car that rewards a proactive driving style, blending “snappy” handling with a more “enjoyable” feel for the driver. While his “winning mentality” comments highlight a rejuvenated atmosphere within the Scuderia, the team remains cautious, knowing that reliability in Barcelona is only the first step toward a championship challenge. As Ferrari prepares to introduce a more aggressive aero package in Bahrain, the strong correlation between Hamilton’s feedback and the team’s data-driven approach suggests they are on the right path to maximizing the new hybrid era’s potential. This initial synergy between the seven-time champion and the Maranello engineers could be the catalyst needed to transform this new technical cycle into a dominant era for the Prancing Horse.