Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has revealed a text exchange with Lewis Hamilton after a return to form at the start of the 2026 F1 season for the seven-time World Champion.

Wolff and Hamilton dominated F1 with Mercedes between 2014 and 2021, with Hamilton landing six of his drivers’ crowns during the period, and the team claiming eight consecutive constructors’ titles.

While the ground effect era saw a decline in the competitiveness of both and Hamilton moved to pastures new with Ferrari, the newest generation of machinery has seen the former allies lock horns on the track, with Mercedes and Ferrari the early pace setters.

In Australia, Hamilton finished fourth, but a first top-three result was secured in the Chinese Grand Prix sprint race, while George Russell won out on both occasions for Mercedes. 

Asked by Sky Sports about how Hamilton’s ability to race appears to have been restored, Wolff said: “I was texting with him yesterday evening, and I said, ‘I am happy to see that you enjoy racing these cars’, and he said, ‘yeah, I am in a good place now’.”

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After Hamilton was seen inspecting the race-winning Mercedes in parc ferme, Wolff jokingly labelled the Briton “Sherlock Holmes.”

“The Ferraris are really quick out of the box,” he added. “I think that probably, they overstretched the tyres a little bit, so without the safety car, that would have been a bit more difficult for them. But this is a tough fight, especially in the first bits of the race.”

Antonelli Chinese GP sprint race penalty verdict

After a dominant 1-2 result in Australia, the Chinese sprint race was a more testing encounter for Mercedes, with a mid-race safety car allowing Charles Leclerc and Hamilton to put pressure back on Russell. In the sister car, a poor start from second had left Kimi Antonelli battling back from seventh. 

On the first lap, this fightback saw him make contact with Isack Hadjar’s Red Bull at Turn 6, for which he was handed a 10-second penalty. Serving this under the safety car when making a pit stop, the Italian was able to recover to fifth place.

“I thought it could have been a five-second penalty,” said Wolff. “But at the end, it is always difficult for the stewards to do the right thing there.” 

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