Lewis Hamilton\u2019s Ferrari revival has been one of the stories of the 2026 Formula 1 season, but Carlos Sainz believes the seven-time world champion has also benefited from a regulation reset that plays directly to his strengths<\/p>\n
And driving a Formula 1 car that suits a driver\u2019s style can suddenly make the driver look \u201clike a god\u201d.<\/p>\n
Carlos Sainz explains Lewis Hamilton\u2019s Ferrari turnaround<\/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 joined Ferrari last season on the back of three disappointing campaigns with Mercedes in the ground-effect aerodynamic era where wins were difficult to come by, never mind a championship challenge.<\/p>\n But the move didn\u2019t yield the success that Hamilton<\/a> and Ferrari expected. Instead, the Briton recorded his first-ever season without a single podium finish.<\/p>\n It had pundits and fans questioning whether age had caught up with the seven-time world champion, who was told that it was time to retire.<\/p>\n But a third of the way into the F1 2026 season and Hamilton is not only a Ferrari race winner, the team\u2019s first since 2024, he\u2019s also second in the Drivers\u2019 Championship.<\/p>\n Hamilton made gains in the standings with back-to-back runner-up results in Canada and Monaco, and followed that up with a maiden Ferrari Grand Prix win at the Barcelona Grand Prix.<\/p>\n He finished the race almost 20 seconds ahead of George Russell, while teammate Charles Leclerc suffered a second retirement in a row as the power steering failed on his Ferrari SF-26.<\/p>\n Hamilton sits P2 to Kimi Antonelli in the standings, 41 points adrift of the Mercedes driver.<\/p>\n But while Hamilton\u2019s fortunes have moved in the right direction this season, his predecessor Sainz has taken a step or three back with Williams. The Grove team\u2019s FW48 has not delivered on pre-season promises, with Sainz scoring just six points in seven race weekends.<\/p>\n The Spaniard says it proves that Formula 1 success is largely determined by being in the right car at the right time, and if you\u2019re not, then the best rise to the top by showing that they can adapt.<\/p>\n That\u2019s something he had to do in the ground-effect era, winning four Grands Prix with Ferrari after a troubled 2022, whereas today Hamilton is benefitting from the new regulations.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the end, it shows that this sport has no secrets,\u201d he told the Spanish press according to Motorsport.com.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we all have a very high level of talent, but with different driving characteristics. Some cars suit us, others don\u2019t.<\/p>\n \u201cThe real virtue of a driver is being able to adapt and being able to take whatever Formula 1 car you\u2019re given and drive it at the limit.<\/p>\n \u201cSomething similar happened to me in 2022. At the start of the year, I had a Ferrari that I really didn\u2019t like. Then I managed to adapt, and in 2023 and 2024 I think I performed at a very high level.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd it can define your entire career. <\/p>\n \u201cSuddenly you join a team with a car that doesn\u2019t suit you, and you spend three years unable to adapt, or the car never adapts to you, and you can look completely useless. <\/p>\n \u201cThen you move to a team where the car is perfectly suited to your style, and suddenly you look like a god. <\/p>\n \u201cThis sport is much more complicated than people think.<\/p>\n \u201cLewis also deserves a lot of credit for turning things around from last year to this year in the way he has.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s also benefited from the regulation change because if he\u2019d been stuck with last year\u2019s car for another three years, maybe we wouldn\u2019t be seeing the Lewis we\u2019re seeing this season.<\/p>\n F1 2026: The season\u2019s winners and losers<\/p>\n The results of the F1 2026 championship <\/a><\/p>\n The F1 2026 Drivers\u2019 and Constructors\u2019 Championship standings<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIt shows that this sport needs to be explained properly. <\/p>\n \u201cPeople need to understand a little more about how things work because changing teams is not easy. At this rate, I\u2019m changing teams every two years and I have to adapt to whatever I\u2019m given.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd yes, that\u2019s why I also think my season last year had a lot of merit. The podiums at the end of the year and this first half of the season might not be getting much attention, but I\u2019m having a very, very good year.\u201d<\/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