Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton says he “personally loved” racing the 2026 cars in Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix, describing the experience as “awesome” amid a hail of backlash from other drivers.

F1’s new regulations have divided opinions among fans and drivers, with several high-profile names across the Melbourne weekend slamming the cars.

Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton has expressed doubts about the 2026 regulations, noting as recently as post-qualifying that he still didn’t fully understand them.

However, his enthusiasm after the race contrasted with the views of many of his colleagues. 

“I personally loved it,” said Hamilton, after finishing fourth from seventh on the grid having run as high as third at one stage.

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“I thought the race was really fun to drive. I thought the car was really fun to drive. I watched the cars ahead, there was some good battling back and forth. So far, so good.”

Asked about the views expressed by the likes of Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, who both doubled down on their criticism of the cars on Sunday, he said: “I don’t know, you’ll have to ask them. I thought it was awesome.

“But again, they’re all further down the line, with 20 cars ahead of you, it may seem different. But from my position, I thought it was great.”

Hamilton: ‘I know where to improve to fight for podiums’

Since the start of testing Ferrari’s good launches have been a point of focus, and Hamilton got away well, only to find himself squeezed by George Russell.

“I had a good start,” he said when asked by Crash.net about his getaway. “George, I don’t know if he was defending me, but I ended up being a bit wide through Turn 1. But then I ended up back in the fight, in the mix.

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“Then I was just really trying to learn about the car the whole time through the pace, and towards the end I had good pace. So, couple of more laps and I would have had Charles [Leclerc].

“So, that’s positive and for the next races I know where to pick up. and improve on to be fighting for podiums going forwards.”

Hamilton conceded that his team still has work to do, but feels it is largely on a par with Mercedes in the corners and is only missing out on the straights.

“We’ve just got to keep pushing and we’ve got to bring upgrades and keep developing, which the team is working hard on,” he said.

“We’ve got to look at where we are losing, which I think is on the straights, because we’re just as quick as them [Mercedes] through the corners.

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“So, the car’s good. We just need something on straightline speed. So, that’s something we need to figure out and I have no doubt we’ll do that.”

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