Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton says he is \u201cexcited for new beginnings\u201d in the F1 2026 season after \u201cremoving things that don\u2019t serve me or bring the right energy.\u201d<\/p>\n
It comes amid rumours that Ferrari has identified Cedric Michel-Grosjean as Hamilton\u2019s new race engineer after Riccardo Adami was moved to a new role within the organisation.<\/p>\n
Lewis Hamilton \u2018excited for new beginnings\u2019 in F1 2026 after \u2018removing things that don\u2019t serve me\u2019<\/p>\n
Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google<\/a> to your favourites list for news you can trust<\/p>\n Hamilton is preparing for his second full season as a Ferrari driver in F1 2026 after a disastrous campaign in 2025.<\/p>\n The seven-time world champion failed to register a podium finish across a season for the first time in his career in 2025 as he struggled to match the pace of teammate Charles Leclerc.<\/p>\n He ended the 2025 season with four consecutive Q1 eliminations, becoming the first driver to qualify last on pure pace since 2009 in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n Lewis Hamilton to get new Ferrari race engineer for F1 2026 season<\/p>\n PF1 verdict: Our reaction to Ferrari\u2019s Lewis Hamilton race engineer bombshell<\/a><\/p>\n Ferrari planning failure already undermining Lewis Hamilton\u2019s F1 2026 campaign<\/a><\/p>\n Ferrari announced earlier this month that Hamilton is to work with a new race engineer for F1 2026 after a change of role for Adami, who is to work with the team\u2019s junior academy and TPC operation going forward.<\/p>\n Hamilton, who carried out the first laps with the new SF-26 car in a shakedown at Fiorano on Friday, is yet to publicly acknowledge his split from Adami.<\/p>\n After cutting a downbeat figure at the end of last season, Hamilton says he is \u201cmassively excited\u201d about F1 2026 after making unspecified changes over the winter break, claiming that the team \u201cfeels refreshed.\u201d<\/p>\n He said after Ferrari\u2019s shakedown: \u201cIf you probably look at all my other interviews all the other years, I\u2019d never say that I get excited.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I\u2019m massively excited and I think that\u2019s OK to say that.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m excited for new beginnings. It\u2019s been such a focus on resetting, having a good break.<\/p>\n \u201cEven though it was the shortest one we\u2019ve ever had, it was just what was needed.<\/p>\n \u201cI think just undoing [certain things], learning new patterns and undoing patterns and removing things that don\u2019t serve me or bring the right energy and making sure you\u2019re just showing up in the right way.<\/p>\n \u201cSo I\u2019m excited about the first test. Obviously, today [shakedown] I don\u2019t get to push it, but it feels cool at Fiorano.<\/p>\n \u201cBut obviously next week we will start to try and stretch the legs and see what this new generation of car is going to bring to to all of us.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd then it\u2019s unknown what other people have, what cars, what tricks that other people may or may not have and what concepts, all those sorts of things.<\/p>\n \u201cI think, for us, just keeping our heads down and focusing on our job.<\/p>\n \u201cBut the team feels refreshed and so much work from so many different departments here, it\u2019s awesome to see.<\/p>\n \u201cSo we\u2019re going to take this energy and just take it one day at a time.\u201d<\/p>\n Hamilton\u2019s latest comments echo his words in a social media post to mark his 41st birthday<\/a> earlier this month, before Ferrari announced Adami\u2019s change of status.<\/p>\n The former Mercedes driver admitted 2025 had been \u201ca very draining year\u201d before declaring that \u201cthe time for change is now.\u201d<\/p>\n He added: \u201cStarting new routines, leaving behind unwanted patterns and working on growth.<\/p>\n \u201cLet go of things that don\u2019t serve you. This can take time. There will be things you can\u2019t get rid of immediately, but it starts with the first step.\u201d<\/p>\n PlanetF1.com understands that Leclerc\u2019s engineer, Bryan Bozzi, is also managing Hamilton at the opening pre-season test of F1 2026, which begins in Barcelona today.<\/p>\n It emerged on Sunday that Michel-Grosjean, formerly of McLaren, is the man most likely to take Adami\u2019s place<\/a> on the Ferrari pit wall.<\/p>\n Michel-Grosjean served as Oscar Piastri\u2019s lead trackside performance engineer in F1 2025 before leaving McLaren at the end of last year.<\/p>\n According to his LinkedIn profile, he is currently on a career break ahead of taking up his next post.<\/p>\n Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp<\/a> to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.<\/p>\n You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel<\/a> for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!<\/p>\n