Lewis Hamilton on Ferrari’s ‘very challenging’ first F1 2026 test day

Lewis Hamilton has reflected on a “very challenging” first day of F1 pre-season testing for Ferrari at Barcelona.

Seven-time world champion Hamilton made his first appearance of F1’s behind closed doors test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Tuesday as he got a proper taste of the SF-26 after Ferrari’s shakedown at Fiorano last week.

Hamilton took over from teammate Charles Leclerc in the afternoon when conditions were wet and slippery, and ran into the gravel at one stage but avoided damaging his new Ferrari.

Despite the brief off, Hamilton was able to complete 57 laps, adding to the 66-lap haul managed by Leclerc in the morning.

“Very challenging today, obviously, because it started raining at 10:30, so obviously Charles had a little bit of dry running, but then it's been wet all afternoon, so figuring out how to get the tyres working,” Hamilton said.

“It was really productive, I think we got about 120 laps or something like that; given it's in the wet conditions and we had a red flag and that, I think that's pretty solid.

“So, really proud of everyone back at the factory for getting the car to this point, and we got a lot of information on the car today. We definitely need to keep it up, lots and lots to do, but a good first day.”

Hamilton added: “It could be so much worse on such a big regulation change, so to get through the day without too many major – there were no major issues, it's just small little increments that we're trying to improve on. I think it's great, and as I said, we just need to try and get some more days like this.”

Hamilton still getting to grips with new F1 rules

The 41-year-old Briton said he has so far not had the chance to properly get a feel for F1’s new regulations.

“I've had the privilege of being here for a long time, 19 years, so been through quite a lot of different cars. So a lot of different swapovers, but this is the biggest one that I've noticed,” he explained.

“I don't want to say too much about it just yet, because it's difficult to know. As I said, I've only driven it in the rain. I mean, it's a lot less downforce than we had last year, but we don't have the porpoising that we had last year, or at least in 2022 when we started it. So there's definitely positives.

“And it's massively challenging for everybody, for every team, which I think is great. It really puts everyone on the back foot. I mean, everyone's really going to kind of be on their toes and learning as you go.

“And whoever develops the fastest, whoever is the smartest in optimising the time and the energy deployment and development will be the ones at the top. And I think this gives everyone a chance to get to the top, which is good. And so we are just all hands on deck trying to make sure we maximise it.”

Leclerc was positive after his first proper run in the SF-26 and has challenged his Ferrari team to return to the top of F1 this season.

“I’m very excited,” Leclerc said of the upcoming campaign. “I’m very excited to see what the others have in store and when we start pushing a bit more to see where we are compared to the others.

“I think this year is a big opportunity for every team to do something different and to maybe gain bigger advantage than what we’ve seen in the last few years.

“I hope we are the team that will manage to make the difference.

“But wherever we start, we will push at the maximum to try and bring Ferrari back to the top. It’s been quite a few years, so I hope that this one is ours.”