Lewis Hamilton has stated that his goal is “to win” in 2026 as he enters into his second campaign as a Ferrari driver, with the seven-time World Champion explaining that he focused on “cultivating a positive mental attitude” during the off-season.
Hamilton’s maiden year with the Scuderia was a challenging one, and marked the first season of the Briton’s 20-year F1 career in which he failed to stand on the podium.
However, Ferrari looked to have enjoyed solid mileage during 2026 pre-season testing in Bahrain and found themselves being touted as one of the favourites by their rivals.
Asked ahead of this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix about how confident he and the team are feeling entering into the new season, Hamilton answered: “I would say it’s not a confidence thing. We got great mileage done in winter testing – an amazing amount of work has been done from the team, back at the factory, and also delivering on those tests.
“We’ve learned a lot from last year – we’re leaving behind the bad and moving forwards with the good. We’re sharp, prepared, and we know what we need to do. We also know there are massive challenges for all of us with the new regulations.”
On a personal level, Hamilton conceded that being more familiar with Ferrari now will help him “massively” in his sophomore campaign with the squad.
“It’s different to the first year, and it’s a much nicer feeling having spent a year with the team, understanding the culture, finding ways of working together,” he explained. “I think we’re in a good place now as a team, and I feel very gelled with team, so [I’m] much happier.”
Pushed on what his goals are for the season ahead, Hamilton – who has gone without a Grand Prix victory since 2024 – responded: “The goal is to win.
“That’s what of course everyone’s working towards, every team is, but that’s our goal – to maximise on every opportunity, to be hopefully fighting in the top group, hopefully in the first races.
“Mercedes look particularly quick, and I’m not really sure whether or not we’ve seen the full unleashed Red Bull yet, so it’s all really exciting but I do know that, whatever the case, I feel I’ve got a great group of people behind me who are head down, focused on bringing performance, maximising every weekend.”
During the off-season, Hamilton has shared a number of positive messages on social media, including one post in which he wrote: “For a moment, I forgot who I was, but thanks to you and your support you’re not going to see that mindset again. I know what needs to be done.”
Reflecting on the factors that contributed to this outlook, the 41-year-old told press during Thursday’s media day at the Albert Park Circuit: “A combination of things. The break was really positive – it was my surroundings, it was the people I was with.
“It’s not my first rodeo, so it’s understanding how to flip things and it’s not that easy to do each time. I always talk about cultivating a positive mental attitude, and that’s what I focused on. A lot of it came from training, so I was training hard from Christmas Day.
“I believe in myself that I’ve put more work in than anyone around me, and rediscovering myself was really a big part of it as well. As I said in one of my posts, I lost sight for a second of who I was and that person’s gone – you won’t see that person again.”
