{"id":862989,"date":"2026-08-21T08:28:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T08:28:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/862989\/"},"modified":"2026-08-21T08:28:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T08:28:10","slug":"lewis-hamilton-reveals-ferrari-innovation-push-behind-his-2026-f1-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/862989\/","title":{"rendered":"Lewis Hamilton reveals Ferrari innovation push behind his 2026 F1 success"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lewis Hamilton<\/a> believes Ferrari<\/a>\u2019s renewed spirit of innovation, which he pushed for last season, has been key to his F1 2026 resurgence.<\/p>\n

After a difficult first season with Ferrari, this year Hamilton has emerged as the Scuderia\u2019s strongest driver as he chases Kimi Antonelli in the standings in a bid to win a record-breaking eighth world title.<\/p>\n

Lewis Hamilton explains Ferrari\u2019s innovation push behind his 2026 success<\/p>\n

Hamilton<\/a>, who clinched his first victory in red at the Barcelona Grand Prix, trails the Mercedes driver by 50 points with a maximum of 316 points still in play.<\/p>\n

It is a notable turnaround from last season when Hamilton failed to reach the podium and finished a distant P6 in the Drivers\u2019 standings.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, Hamilton revealed that he had been \u201cbanging my head against a wall\u201d throughout the 2025 championship as he questioned Ferrari\u2019s place in Formula 1\u2019s development war.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast year,\u201d he said, \u201cI was asking: \u2018Where is our innovation?\u2019 Ferrari should be the innovators, the ones everyone else copies.\u201d<\/p>\n

This year, Ferrari has answered his call.<\/p>\n

Not only did the team unveil a radical exhaust wing concept, with Mercedes, McLaren and Red Bull following on with designs of their own, but it also delivered the \u2018Macarena\u2019 rear wing, which has been copied by Red Bull and McLaren.<\/p>\n

Said to have arguably the best chassis on the grid, Ferrari is in the fight for both championship titles with Hamilton second in the Drivers\u2019 standings, 50 points behind Kimi Antonelli, while Ferrari is 72 behind Mercedes in the Constructors\u2019 Championship.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a combination of a lot of things,\u201d Hamilton told the media, including PlanetF1.com, at Zandvoort. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think we made a lot of changes to the car, and so it\u2019s not just one thing, it\u2019s all the pieces of the puzzle.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe moved a lot of things around. Been a lot of changes, whether it\u2019s in engineering, our processes, the design of the car is a lot different obviously in this new generation, but we made a lot of changes and I think we\u2019re in a better place with that.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we\u2019ve got a great collaboration now. It took a good year for us to get in sync, but I think we\u2019re there.\u201d<\/p>\n

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That collaboration between the Briton and his new team included Hamilton pushing Ferrari to become innovators in Formula 1, and not just followers.<\/p>\n

Hamilton says the team\u2019s results, which include two race wins, prove that it has worked.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that collaboration I was talking about, we\u2019ve been moving in the right direction collectively, and the things that I\u2019d asked for ended up getting done over time,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you know, I feel like now we\u2019ve had the results so it shows that it works, and feel like we\u2019ve got the right formula. So now we\u2019re kind of doubling down on that, continuing to improve. <\/p>\n

\u201cLast year one of the things I said was Ferrari should be like the innovators, and everyone should be following it. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd this year we\u2019re innovators. You know, people have been following our wing designs, the exhaust system.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just think we\u2019re just going in the right direction. I think we\u2019re in a real sweet spot. We\u2019re just going to continue to build on this foundation that we built.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, the seven-time world champion concedes there are still areas that Ferrari needs to improve.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe still have to continue to progress in our car, we\u2019ve definitely got lots of areas that we need to improve, but we\u2019ve come a long way,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m really proud of the steps that we have taken coming into the season and through the season. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s been a massive challenge for every team. Every team\u2019s made mistakes naturally with new regulations, and yeah, we\u2019ve just got to continue to chase. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think everyone\u2019s really buoyed up, or everyone\u2019s really focused within the team. A lot of belief in the team, which is really amazing to see, and we\u2019re continuously like adding performance and pushing the car forward. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo there\u2019s not really much more that I can ask from\u2026 I don\u2019t think I can ask for any more from the team except we just got in the second half of the season to try to execute that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher<\/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

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