Lewis Hamilton 'fascinated' by one aspect of radical looming F1 changes

Lewis Hamilton has expressed his excitement over the upcoming F1 regulations overhaul, which will see brand new cars and power units competing in 2026.

The seven-time F1 drivers' champion expects the "learning curve" to be significant for everyone in the paddock, but believes it forces people to "dig deep" and innovate.

Whilst there has been considerable concern and criticism shared by his peers, the Ferrari driver is choosing to view the situation in a positive light.

"For me, the thing I love about Formula 1 is that there are these changes that come along the way," Hamilton told media, including RacingNews365. "There’s so much innovation and development.

"And every time they make these changes, the learning curve is so steep for everyone within the team. So it really challenges us all to dig deep, to innovate."

Carlos Sainz, who sat alongside Hamilton in the FIA press conference, explained how "complicated" the new power units will be for drivers to initially wrap their heads around. But that is no cause for worry in the 40-year-old's eyes. 

"Even from a driver’s perspective, it’s got more and more intricate as the years have gone on," the 105-time grand prix winner said.

"Like Carlos mentioned, this next step, I would say, probably the driver has even more input into the development - particularly of the power unit and how you use the power."

Hamilton was keen not to "shut it down" and speak negatively about the new cars, such is the step into the unknown for the grid.

"I don’t really want to shut it down, because maybe things will be good," he added. "Let’s see when we get into the next season.

"It could go either way - it could be good, it could be not so good. But only time will tell."

Instead, Hamilton is relishing the challenge of working on two distinctly different cars simultaneously, despite his difficult start to life at Ferrari.

"What I love is that while we’re fighting this season in this championship, we’re also having to develop the current car - and then the next car," he explained.

"And that, for me, is fascinating. If we were just with the same car all the time, evolving on a very small gradient, it just would not be anywhere near as fun."