Lewis Hamilton has been thriving with Ferrari in Formula 1 this season as he looks to mount a title battle in the second-half of the season.
After a blockbuster move from Mercedes to Ferrari, at the start of last season, expectations had sky-rocketed from the seven-time World Champion.
But unfortunately, for Hamilton, his inabilities under the ground effects cars moved with him to the Maranello-based squad.
As a consequence, the Briton suffered a largely demoralising debut season with the iconic Italian team – finishing without a Grand Prix podium in a season for the first time in his career and 96 points adrift his team-mate Charles Leclerc, in the standings.
That said, 2026 has seen a reinvigorated Hamilton strapped into the cockpit of the SF-26. 11 rounds in, the Ferrari driver has wracked up five podiums, including his maiden win for the team at the Spanish GP.
Former F1 World Champion, Damon Hill has recognised this turnaround for Hamilton, remarking it was only a matter of time as “he’s going to win at anything he does”.
“Cream always rises to the top, doesn’t it,” Hill told F1.com.
“He’s going to win at anything he does. I don’t think it sits easily with him to back off. He’s been working hard over the winter, clearly, and he’s worked on how he wants the Ferrari to be for him.
“They signed him, they paid a lot of money to have him, so he’s saying, ‘Okay, I’m not going to just sit here and do what you do.’
“I’m going to tell you what I do, and you’re going to make it suit me’. The power he has, the reputation he has, he’s putting to work, to protect himself. He’s right to do that.”
Lewis Hamilton expects “stronger” second-half to 2026 as the F1 title race intensifies
Heading into the summer break, after the Hungarian GP, Hamilton sits second in the driver’s standings, 50 points away from leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
The 19-year-old, who replaced Hamilton at Mercedes, last season, has enjoyed a resurgent run of his own under the current technical rule-set, with the W17 the benchmark for the field.
Hamilton, despite a strong start to the season, has fallen back on Antonelli – largely owing to consecutive race weekends where he caught the ire of the stewards for separate incidents and infringements.
The Briton is aware that he needs to put an end to these “mistakes” and insisted that he aims to come back stronger in the second-half of the season.
“I have to accept that I’ve made mistakes in the last three races that have cost me a lot of points,” he had said after the race at the Hungaroring.
“I just need to take this time to reflect and sort my head out so I can come back and be a bit stronger.”
Hamilton’s first challenge would come at the Dutch GP, in late August, where he would hope to make the first of his inroads into Antonelli’s substantial championship lead.
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