Lewis Hamilton: "2026 my biggest challenge"
On the sidelines of the presentation of the new Ferrari SF-26 in Maranello, Lewis Hamilton spoke about the new single-seater he will race in the 2026 F1 World Championship, which had to adapt to the regulatory revolution. “The 2026 represents a huge challenge for everyone: it is probably the biggest regulatory change I have experienced during my career” stressed the seven-time world champion who goes hunting for redemption in 2026 after a rather disappointing first season with the Redhead.
“When you enter a new era like this one, everything revolves around development, the ability to grow as a team and to do so in the same direction– added the Englishman, who was the first Ferrari driver to take to the track with the new car in the Fiorano shakedown. “As a driver, it was a particularly intriguing challenge to be able to be involved from the very beginning in the development process of such a different car, working with the engineers to define a shared direction”.
“This will be an extremely important year from a technical standpoint, in which the driver’s role will be central in managing power, new systems and helping to understand the car. It is a challenge that we face together, as a team, also being able to count on the extraordinary support of the fans, which means so much to all of us” concluded Hamilton, who in the last season never finished on the podium with Ferrari. Lewis’s only high point was winning the Sprint Race in Shanghai, in the Chinese Grand Prix.
One of the big changes for Hamilton in the new season will be the change of track engineer. In fact, the departure of Riccardo Adami represents a small, big revolution for the Cavallino: the engineer from Brescia had in fact held that role with Carlos Sainz and, even earlier, with a certain Sebastian Vettel.
The track engineer will be the new engineer.
Those expecting the seven-time world champion to be joined at Maranello by Peter Bonnington, the faithful “Bono” who accompanied him during his triumphant years in Mercedes, may be disappointed, however. In fact, Riccardo Adami’s place should be taken by Luca Diella, who has been working at Ferrari since Spa 2025 as a performance engineer but was previously Hamilton’s engine manager at Mercedes itself.
