Lewis Hamilton says his goal is to win the 2026 Formula 1 title and Ferrari are “leaving behind the bad” as he begins his second campaign with the team.
Hamilton endured a frustrating first season at Ferrari in 2025, failing to stand on the podium all year for the first time in his F1 career, but has visibly been in a more buoyant mood leading up to this weekend’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
Not since 2021 has Hamilton been able to challenge for the championship and the 41-year-old stressed he is “much happier” compared to 12 months ago having spent a year with Ferrari to understand their culture and team operations.
“We got great mileage done in winter testing – an amazing amount of work has been done from the team back at the factory, but also delivering on those tests,” he said.
“We’ve learned a lot from last year. We’re leaving behind the bad and moving forwards with the good, and we’re just sharp. We are prepared, and we know what we need to do. We also know there’s massive challenges for all of us with the new rules and regulations.”
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The paddock consensus is Ferrari and Mercedes are favourites for the first race in Melbourne, although Hamilton hinted Red Bull may have been sandbagging when asked about his realistic ambitions.
He said: “The goal is to win. That’s what everyone’s working towards – every team is. But that’s our goal, to maximise on every opportunity, to be lean, to be hopefully fighting in the top group, hopefully in the first races. We don’t really know.
“Mercedes looks particularly quick, and I’m not really sure whether we have seen the full unleashed Red Bull yet, so it’s really, really exciting.
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“But I do know that, whatever the case, I feel like I’ve got a great group of people behind me who are head down, focused on bringing performance and really maximising from every weekend.”
Hamilton explains how ‘I lost sight of who I was’
Hamilton struggled in F1’s ground effect era, which began in 2022, but the new 2026 cars should suit the Ferrari driver’s style of being able to handle a car that can slide more while being under control.
The Ferrari driver wrote in an Instagram post that there will be “no holding back” and stated last month he “forgot who I was”.
Asked where the renewed energy has come from, he said: “A combination of things. The break was really positive. It was my surroundings, it was the people that I was with. It’s not my first rodeo, so it’s understanding how to flip things, and it’s not that easy to do each time.
“But I always talk about cultivating a positive mental attitude, and that’s what I focus on my winter doing, and a lot of it came from training. I was training hard from Christmas Day.
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“Also knowing that I believe in myself, that I put more work in than anyone around me, and I believe in what my myself and rediscovering myself was really a big part of it as well. I kind of like lost sight for a second of who I was, and that person’s gone, so you won’t see that person again.”
Hamilton parted ways with his long-term manager Mark Hynes during the off-season and is yet to find a new race engineer after Riccardo Adami was moved into a different role at Ferrari. Carlo Santi, Kimi Raikkonen’s former engineer, will work with Hamilton until an appointment is made.
Hamilton continued: “[I’ve] come back with that positive mental frame of mind, so I feel great arriving here. Training has been fantastic, the engine, the work with the team has been amazing.
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“Changes within my own personal space and in how I interact with the team, how the team is working is so much smoother than it was last year.”
Sky Sports F1’s Australian GP schedule
Thursday March 5
9.45pm: F3 Practice
10.55pm: F2 Practice
Friday March 6
1am: Australian GP Practice One (session starts at 1.30am)*
2.55am: F3 Qualifying*
3.30am: Team Bosses Press Conference
3.50am: F2 Qualifying*
4.35am: Australian GP Practice Two (session starts at 5am)*
6.15am: The F1 Show*
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Saturday March 7
0.10am: F3 Sprint*
1.10am: Australian GP Practice Three (session starts at 1.30am)*
3.05am: F2 Sprint*
4.10am: Australian GP Qualifying build-up*
5am: AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX QUALIFYING*
7am: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook*
9.45pm: F3 Feature Race*
Sunday March 8
12.20am: F2 Feature Race*
2.30am: Australian GP build-up: Grand Prix Sunday*
4am: THE AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX*
6am: Australian GP reaction: Chequered Flag*
7am: Ted’s Notebook*
7.55am: Australian GP race replay*
10am: Australian GP highlights (also on Sky One)*
*Also on Sky Sports Main Event
Watch every race of the 2026 Formula 1 season live on Sky Sports, starting with the Australian Grand Prix from this weekend. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime
