Lewis Hamilton has revealed that he is "massively excited" for next week’s first official test ahead of the 2026 Formula 1 season, after making several changes during the short winter break.
The seven-time world champion enters the new power unit regulations on the back of a disastrous first campaign with Ferrari — the worst of his incredible F1 career.
It left the 41-year-old in desperate need of the winter break, despite it being one of the shortest in the history of the sport.
During his time away over the winter, Hamilton focused on completely resetting and ensuring he has the "right energy" around him, even if it meant "removing things."
In addition to making changes himself, Ferrari recently announced that Hamilton would have a new race engineer for the upcoming season with Riccardo Adami moved into a different role.
He drove Ferrari’s new SF-26 at its Fiorano test track on Friday following the car’s unveiling earlier in the day, with the veteran very much ready to get his 20th season underway.
Looking ahead to the Barcelona test, Hamilton told F1: "I mean, if you probably look at all my other interviews over the years, I’d never say that I get excited, but I’m massively excited — and I think it’s okay to say that, yeah, I’m excited for new beginnings.
"It’s been such a focus on resetting and having a good break. Even though it was the shortest break we’ve ever had, I would say it was just what was needed.
"Yeah, I think it’s about undoing, learning new patterns, undoing old ones, removing things that don’t serve me or bring the right energy, and making sure you’re showing up in the right way.
"So I’m excited about the first test. Obviously, in the shakedown I don’t get to push it, but it feels cool at Fiorano. Next week, we’ll start to try and stretch the legs and see what this new generation of car is going to bring to all of us.
"And then it’s kind of like not knowing what other people have — what cars, what tricks other people may or may not have, and what concepts, all those sorts of things. I think for us, it’s just about keeping our heads down and focusing on our job."
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