Valtteri Bottas believes Lewis Hamilton has not \u201clost any of his ability\u201d and that this generation of cars having a \u201cbit of his DNA in it\u201d is behind his upturn in form.<\/p>\n
A podium-less season in his first year at Ferrari had some wondering whether Hamilton was finished at the very top level, but he has made a return to the top end in 2026 and opened his Ferrari victory account in Barcelona.<\/p>\n
Valterti Bottas says \u2018DNA\u2019 behind Lewis Hamilton comeback<\/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 No one has shared a garage with Hamilton more than the 100 of Bottas, and so the now-Cadillac driver is well placed to analyse what has changed in his former teammate from the previous seasons to now.<\/p>\n Following a disappointing end to his Mercedes career and his lacklustre debut year at Ferrari, Hamilton took his first Ferrari grand prix win in Barcelona, and has recorded three further podiums in 2026. He looks to be back to his near best.<\/p>\n Bottas believes a change in the \u201cDNA\u201d of the cars is behind that but suggested Hamilton never \u201clost any of his ability.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNaturally people are happier the better the racing goes on track,\u201d Bottas said in Barcelona. \u201cAnd he seems in a good place.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s good to see that he\u2019s shown that he hasn\u2019t lost any of his ability to do great qualifying, great races.<\/p>\n \u201cSo maybe these types of cars are a bit different than in the past, maybe it\u2019s the first car that has a bit of his DNA in it. Those small things can make a big difference, because in the end, this sport, again, we\u2019re talking such fine margins but it\u2019s good to see.\u201d<\/p>\n More on Lewis Hamilton from PlanetF1.com<\/p>\n Charles Leclerc follows Lewis Hamilton with Ferrari brake materials supplier switch<\/a><\/p>\n Hamilton surprised as Ferrari missed a \u2018trick\u2019 as rivals adapted in Monaco<\/a><\/p>\n Asked whether it was surprising to see such a slump from Hamilton last season, Bottas said it was but suggested the Ferrari driver was \u201creally hard on himself.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI would say so, it seemed like he was really hard on himself as well.<\/p>\n \u201cNow he\u2019s in a more normal place, and that\u2019s good to see.\u201d<\/p>\n Bottas also spoke of how moving to a new outfit in Cadillac made operational issues a far bigger concern than they were at Mercedes, suggesting the problems were more numerous than he had even expected.<\/p>\n \u201cI knew we had to go through this phase and there\u2019s been a lot of problem solving, maybe even more than I thought.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I knew what I was jumping into. Absolutely, that makes me really appreciate the big teams, how everything works so well, and you don\u2019t think about some of the stuff, when you\u2019re a team that just works perfectly enough.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s so much going on in the background, the preparation, the problem solving they\u2019ve had to do 20 years ago, and it keeps going.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve learned a lot this year about how actually a Formula 1 team works, and it\u2019s\u2026 it\u2019s quite, kind of cool to see that, but yeah, we\u2019ve made big steps so far as a team, but we still have a lot of work to do.\u201d<\/p>\n Read next: Honda confirms \u2018similar\u2019 ADUO verdict as Red Bull Powertrains sets benchmark<\/a><\/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