Lewis Hamilton cut a disconsolate figure for much of last year. Hugely self-critical, he branded himself “useless” at one point, described his season as “a nightmare” and said he couldn’t wait for it to be over.
For a time, it begged the question whether the 41-year-old would return to the grid at all. Hamilton surely asked himself the same thing before dusting himself off and starting all over again.
The transformation has been nothing short of miraculous. After finishing fourth at the season opener in Australia, he ended up on the podium in China in both the sprint and the main grand prix, the first time he has done so with his team in a full-length race.
We are underway in China, and Lewis Hamilton leads the race in his Ferrari! pic.twitter.com/iL68IvS80Q
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) March 15, 2026Critics may point to the fact that he has flattered to deceive for the Tifosi in the past. A year ago, he won the sprint race in Shanghai and was suitably lauded with talk of a bold new era for him at his new employers. In truth, it was the only bright spark in a harrowing campaign that would follow.
As it dragged on, he increasingly looked like a shadow of his former self both on the track and off it. It spilled over in his communications both over the race radio engineer Riccardo Adami, who tellingly was moved aside at the end of the year, and his post-race interviews.
Gone was the confidence and swagger which he had exuded with such pomp in his heyday. It was as though he had forgotten the past, the seven world titles he had racked up and his inherent ability behind the wheel.
Drivers often talk about confidence both in terms of the car at their disposal and also mentally but few go to the extremes more than Hamilton. When things go awry, he lets the doubts absolutely flood in, when it clicks the confidence sky rockets.
The car has also helped, not just the Ferrari but this overall new iteration of vehicle on the grid in 2026. Hamilton made no secret of the fact that he was not a fan of the ground-effect era and his results backed that up.
Hamilton engaged in a running battle with Charles Leclerc at the Shanghai International Circuit (Photo: Getty)These newer, lighter and nimbler cars are far more to his liking, his cause also further helped by the fact that the SF-26 is far more rapid than its predecessor, albeit still four or five tenths of a second lap behind the two Mercedes.
Shanghai felt like a throwback at points as Hamilton the hunter set about hauling in those on the track ahead of him, which for much of the race was his teammate Charles Leclerc, with whom he enjoyed a thrilling, almost constant duel for a big chunk of the race.
The change from Adami to Carlo Santi has clearly helped even if Hamilton did still remonstrate with him at points in the race about a lack of power at his disposal. But that is more about the complexity of these new cars and trying to uncover every way to harness more power than the frustration of 2025.
Hamilton’s race pace is clearly good, his race starts phenomenal too but also telling is how he has thrived in the early qualifying sessions. Leclerc has earned a reputation as a driver with arguably the best one-lap pace on the grid. Hamilton was a mere tenth of a second behind him in Melbourne and then bettered the Monagesque in both Chinese qualifying sessions.
The winter appears to have been a deep one of reflection and introspection. Ahead of the start of the season reflecting on the difficulties of season one at Ferrari, he said: “I lost sight for a second who I was,” before pointing out, “that person’s gone, you won’t see that person again”.
And it was perhaps apt that this first race podium should come alongside race winner Kimi Antonelli, his Mercedes replacement, former teammate George Russell and his long-time race engineer Peter “Bono” Bennington. That quartet could barely have looked happier for each other.
Post-race, Bono made the point “there’s life in the old dog yet” of his former charge. As for Hamilton, he was quick albeit brief with the praise at the chequered flag before countering “we’ve got work to do” to close the gap to the frontrunners.
He then added: “I believe in you,” not a sentiment that he shared much with the pitwall last season. Perhaps more crucial, he once again believes in himself. Hamilton has very much got his mojo back
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