{"id":215037,"date":"2025-10-15T10:51:19","date_gmt":"2025-10-15T10:51:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/215037\/"},"modified":"2025-10-15T10:51:19","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T10:51:19","slug":"will-2026-be-make-or-break-for-hamilton-and-ferrari-i-really-hope-so","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/215037\/","title":{"rendered":"Will 2026 Be Make or Break for Hamilton and Ferrari? \u201cI Really Hope So\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lewis Hamilton<\/a> still hasn\u2019t found his rhythm in Ferrari<\/a> red. The seven-time Formula 1 world champion has endured a difficult first season with the Scuderia, struggling to match expectations and falling short of the fairytale comeback many fans had imagined. But according to former F1 driver Riccardo Patrese<\/a>, there is still hope \u2014 and perhaps one last chance for magic when Formula 1 enters its new era in 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A slow start to life at Ferrari\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hamilton\u2019s arrival in Maranello at the start of the season was met with huge anticipation. Seen as the man who could finally end Ferrari\u2019s championship drought, he replaced Carlos Sainz and was welcomed as a savior. Yet the dream hasn\u2019t materialized. So far, the Brit has failed to score a single podium and has often been outperformed by his teammate Charles Leclerc<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Next season will bring sweeping regulation changes, offering Hamilton and Ferrari a potential reset. Patrese believes this could be the opportunity both need. \u201cLewis can do whatever he wants,\u201d he told The Escapist Magazine. \u201cBut I think he\u2019ll want to end his career with good results \u2014 and with that eighth world title. He\u2019s not done yet.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe shouldn\u2019t leave through the back door\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

For Patrese, retirement is not an option \u2014 at least not yet. The Italian hopes Hamilton won\u2019t walk away before giving the new era a proper chance. \u201cNext year will mark a new chapter with different cars and rules,\u201d he said. \u201cMaybe he\u2019ll give it one more season and then say, \u2018Goodbye.\u2019 If I were in his position, I\u2019d fight until the very end to get the best results possible.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some have suggested Hamilton could fall into the same trap as Fernando Alonso<\/a> and Sebastian Vettel<\/a> \u2014 both former world champions who failed to bring Ferrari back to glory. Patrese hopes that history won\u2019t repeat itself.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope that with his experience, he can help Ferrari improve internally and give the right advice,\u201d Patrese said. \u201cI really do hope so \u2014 because I\u2019m Italian, and my son [Lorenzo Patrese] races for Ferrari. I was never a Ferrari driver myself, but I\u2019ve always been a bit of a fan. So yes, I truly hope they find the solution.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

A final chance at redemption\u00a0<\/p>\n

As Ferrari prepares for a new regulatory era, 2026 could be the defining moment for both team and driver. For Hamilton, it\u2019s a chance to close his career not in frustration, but in triumph \u2014 and for Ferrari, perhaps one last shot at ending a drought that has lasted since 2007.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lewis Hamilton still hasn\u2019t found his rhythm in Ferrari red. The seven-time Formula 1 world champion has endured…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":215038,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[573],"tags":[64,63,817,826,813,816,131748,823,131749,85],"class_list":["post-215037","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-f1","tag-ferrari","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-formule-1","tag-lewis-hamilton","tag-riccardo-patrese","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215037","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=215037"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215037\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/215038"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=215037"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=215037"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=215037"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}