Lewis Hamilton plotting Ferrari renewal with former Mercedes F1 ally

Lewis Hamilton has explained how a former Mercedes F1 ally is central to Ferrari's plans to return to the front of the grid in 2026.

Prior to Hamilton's arrival at the Scuderia, it managed to lure Loic Serra from Mercedes, where he had served as performance director during Hamilton's success-laden spell with the team. 

Serra was appointed as chassis technical director at Ferrari in starting in 2024, meaning he would have had minimal impact on the '25 machine, which has proved underwhelming for Ferrari, which was expecting to challenge McLaren for the constructors' championship.

However, the team finds itself in third place, 191 points behind McLaren, with Hamilton explaining that his "main focus" was ensuring the 2026 car is capable of fighting for the title. 

"I think ultimately [Canada] was a better weekend, I had a better qualifying, which has improved, but obviously I had the issue in the race," Hamilton explained to media, including RacingNews365. 

"So there have been a lot of things which have happened through weekends, and maybe one day, you'll find out all the things that have gone on which have hindered us, whether it's been team mistakes or car issues, or driver side errors.

"But we are just trying to arrive each weekend to do the best we can, and in the background, I'm working hard with Fred and the team to try and implement changes and improvements so we can have long-term success. 

"I'm working with Loic and the whole crew on next year's front suspension, rear suspension and addressing the understeer issues and making sure they don't continue.

"We're making sure we're learning from their previous years and what we're learning from this year so that next year is the best we've ever had, that's my main focus."