Lewis Hamilton sends a powerful message to his critics

Make no mistake, Lewis Hamilton is a renewed force in Formula 1 this season.

The Ferrari driver has come roaring back with a vengeance in 2026, sending a clear statement of intent with his handling of the press and his strong displays over the first two rounds of the F1 campaign.

I won’t pollute the opening lines of this column with an aged pop culture reference — I’ll save that for the conclusion — but outlasting team-mate Charles Leclerc during their highly entertaining battle for the final podium position at the Shanghai International Circuit should be viewed as nothing short of redemptive.

It may have taken the British driver 26 times of asking, but he is over that hump, and reaching the rostrum at the Chinese Grand Prix is the empirical evidence of how rejuvenated Hamilton appeared in Melbourne.

In fact, I had planned to write this column after the curtain raiser at Albert Park, but held off, just to be sure. Now armed with proof, I’m glad I did.

Hamilton told he was 'past it'

Coming into the campaign off the back of a dismal first year with Ferrari, the seven-time F1 drivers' champion had to sustain wave after wave of attack from his detractors across the season.

There were calls for him to retire, walk away with his head held high, after achieving more than any other driver in the championship’s storied history — from a broad church of voices, too.

And the lows were low, like his comments at the Hungarian Grand Prix, when he said the Italian team needed a new driver, and his three consecutive Q1 eliminations to end the year.

It’s well understood that Hamilton never felt at home with the contemporary ground-effect era of F1 cars, and he never looked comfortable at Ferrari in 2025, racing an SF-25 he had no hand in developing.

The 105-time grand prix winner likes to be hard and late on the brakes into a corner, steering in aggressively and sharply, something that was at odds with cars that needed a more gentle and consistent approach — a ‘u shape’ compared to Hamilton’s ‘v shape’ — through a corner to prevent the critical airflow beneath the floor from being disrupted.

That, coupled with not yet being settled in his new machinery and surroundings, made it easy for onlookers to conclude that he was past it and, at 40 years of age, unable to recreate his former glory with the Prancing Horse.

The year of the horse

But 2026 is the year of the Horse — making his first podium for Ferrari coming in Shanghai all the more fitting — and whilst it is far too early to say it is Hamilton’s year, given the undeniable strength of the Mercedes W17, he has already set the tone.

After pre-season testing, the Briton wrote, "I'm re-set and refreshed. I’m not going anywhere, so stick with me. For a moment, I forgot who I was," on social media.

Undoubtedly buoyed by the clearly strong package underneath him and Leclerc, and new cars that are much better suited to his driving style, Hamilton's remarks were pointed and intentional.

He backed that up during the media day at the Australian Grand Prix, when he stated: "I kind of lost sight for a second of who I was, and that person’s gone, so you won’t see that person again."

And those are not mere empty words from Hamilton; his body language supports his claim. He looks freer, inside and outside the car; the aura of confidence has returned — and the positivity emanating from him is clear for all to see. 

"I think I came into the season with the confidence that I used to have, and I think I’ve stuck at it," he said after his podium in China.

And now, having vanquished that particular demon, a first victory for Ferrari is in his crosshairs, with win number 106 "more in sight than ever before".

Underlining his winter transformation, he added: "Last year it couldn’t have been further from view."

After the abject misery of his campaign last year, he poured himself into preparing for the new era of F1 during the off-season.

The Hamilton 'flip'

In Melbourne, Hamilton was asked where his rekindled positivity had come from, to which he replied: "[It’s] a combination of things. The break was really positive. It was my surroundings, it was the people that I was with.

"It’s not my first rodeo, so it’s understanding how to flip things. It’s not that easy to do each time, but I always talk about cultivating a positive mental attitude and that's what I focus on in my winter. A lot of it came from training.

"I was training hard from Christmas Day. Also, knowing that I believe in myself, that I’ve put more work in than anyone around me, and I believe in myself. Rediscovering myself was a big part of it as well."

And, at 41, Hamilton is having to prepare harder and better than in his younger years, both mentally and physically. It's paying dividends already.

"Training this winter has been the heaviest and the most intense that I've ever had, and that probably comes hand in hand with being older. It takes longer to recover. But I’ve managed to pull these new tools together," he explained in Shanghai. 

"I’ve got a great trainer that I’ve been working with in the past, but we worked together since Christmas Day."

Better embedded

A key element is being better embedded within the team in Maranello, and being more at ease with those he is working closest with.

After a strained relationship with engineer Riccardo Adami, as evidenced by their awkward and at-times-painful-to-listen-to radio communications, his partnership with interim race engineer Carlo Santi appears to be a significant step forward.

"The time at the factory, obviously new engineer, and that’s obviously been a real good boost as well. Great morale within the team," he said after the Chinese Grand Prix.

"And as I said, I just decided on Christmas Day how I was going to start this season. I decided what I was going to do mentally, and I'm going to continue to tweak that. I do think there’s more to come. I think I can still eke out more performance from this car.

"I’m still learning about it as I go, particularly with deployment and that. Then on the backside, mid to end of last year, digging deep with the engineers and talking to them about the things that I wanted from a car that I didn’t have any part of developing last year, to then develop the car with them this year and to see them listen and put some of those things that I’d asked for on the car, I’m incredibly grateful to them for listening on that side of things.

"It just makes you feel more united with everyone because you’re moving in the same direction. So, I’m looking forward to getting back next week to Maranello and seeing everybody."

Don't call it a comeback

Then there is the enjoyment factor. The new regulations have proven divisive. Max Verstappen has been incredibly critical, offering scathing remarks and withering appraisals of the revamped power unit and chassis rules.

Carlos Sainz has led the charge on safety grounds, and a whole host of other drivers have branded the new requirements too complicated and complex. On top of that, many of them are just not having fun.

Not Hamilton, however. And even team-mate Leclerc was beaming when he came into the media pen on Sunday, sharing how entertaining he had found the intra-Ferrari fight from his own cockpit.

"I think it’s the best racing that I’ve ever experienced in Formula 1," Hamilton opined in the post-race press conference.

All this has contributed to a late career renaissance for the veteran, now into his 20th season in F1. And underestimate a restored Hamilton at your own risk.

"I definitely feel like I’m back to my best, both mentally and physically", before underlining just how positive he is feeling: "I still think there’s room to improve."

It may be just two weekends into a 22-round calendar, but the message from Hamilton, both on the track and off it, is clear.

He is not the Lewis Hamilton of 2025; he is the Lewis Hamilton who rewrote the F1 record book — he just needed time to figure it all out.

And so, to loosely butcher the immortal words of LL Cool J, don't call it a comeback; he's been here for years.