Martin Brundle believes Lewis Hamilton can still win races with Ferrari this season, especially if the Miami GP upgrades deliver what they promise.
Hamilton joined Ferrari from Mercedes ahead of the 2025 campaign, but his first year with the Scuderia proved difficult.
The seven-time World Champion struggled to adapt and finished sixth in the standings.
It was also the first time in his Formula 1 career that he failed to score a Grand Prix podium.
The start of 2026 has been more encouraging.
Hamilton secured his first Ferrari podium at the Chinese GP and has run much closer to teammate Charles Leclerc after being outpaced by the Monegasque across much of last season.
Why Brundle hasn’t given up on Hamilton
Brundle expects Ferrari to take another step forward when it introduces a major upgrade package at this weekend’s Miami GP
“Lewis clearly enjoys these cars much more,” Brundle told Sky Sports F1. “Ferrari is more competitive, and I think will make a big step for Miami.
“Lewis obviously prefers this type of car to the seasons we had with the ground effect cars that were smashing against the ground and quite brutal things. It didn’t seem to suit his style.
“But his mood and just the way he’s going about it, he just seems a lot happier because Ferrari is more competitive.”
Brundle added that Hamilton must first overcome Leclerc if he is to launch a title bid.
“He’s got to beat Charles Leclerc if he’s going to win the world championship in the other Ferrari, and others.
“Let’s see if he can sustain that. If there’s a sniff of a victory, I think Lewis is still very much capable of taking that.”
Brundle also feels the championship battle remains wide open heading into Miami, with teams using the recent five-week break to unlock more performance under the new regulations.
“I think it’s totally wide open,” he added. “We have got a sprint weekend in Miami, so there are sprint points to be won, Grand Prix points to be won.
“This is going to ebb and flow. I see teams leapfrogging others with some upgrades because there is so much upside potential with these cars.
“Anybody I would say in the top four teams, any of those eight drivers, could win this year’s world championship.”
If Ferrari’s Miami upgrades deliver, Hamilton may finally have the car to turn optimism into genuine title momentum.
READ MORE – Cadillac goes on brand with ‘stars and stripes’ livery for maiden US F1 race
Discussion about this post