Ross Brawn reveals his F1 2026 hope for Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari

Ross Brawn thinks Lewis Hamilton can still produce a “vintage” F1 season at Ferrari if the team are competitive in 2026.

After going close to winning the constructors’ championship in 2024, Ferrari endured a dreadful 2025 as they slipped from second to fourth in the standings and failed to win a race.

Hamilton had a debut campaign in red to forget following his sensational switch from Mercedes and failed to register a grand prix podium during a season for the first time in his F1 career.

But Brawn, the legendary F1 boss who spent 10 seasons at the helm of Ferrari during the peak of the Italian team’s success in the late 90s and early 2000s with Michael Schumacher, has backed the seven-time world champion to rediscover his best form.

"I think we'd all love for him to be successful," Brawn told Sky Sports News at the Autosport Awards.

"I've got a special place for Ferrari; I've been there 10 years. I know how tough it is there.

"But it's always a fine line between a team gelling and not quite gelling, and it didn't quite gel last year.

"But if he gets some incentives and if he sees there's an opportunity, I think we'll see a vintage Lewis. So I'm hoping that happens.”

Brawn also feels current Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur is doing a good job in difficult circumstances.

“What you don't see and you can't judge is the infrastructure behind Fred,” Brawn stressed.

"The engineers, how well they're working. I don't know how that's all functioning, but I think it will be a measure of Fred this year how well they do.”

Ferrari head into F1’s rules reset under immense pressure to turnaround their fortunes and get back to winning ways as the Scuderia look to end their title drought that has gone on for almost two decades. 

Charles Leclerc, who convincingly outperformed Hamilton last year, insists "it's now or never" for Ferrari to deliver a world championship-winning car.