Scott Gulbransen
Lewis Hamilton called the 2025 Formula 1 season the worst of his career. He qualified last on merit in Las Vegas — the first time that had ever happened in 19 years. He called himself “useless” after Hungary. Ferrari chairman John Elkann told him publicly to talk less and drive more.
That’s where things stood five months ago.
Hamilton persevered and returned in 2026 with a fresh mindset. And that, more than anything, tells you what you need to know about where Lewis Hamilton’s head is at heading into Miami.
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Why Hamilton Went to Ferrari in the First Place
When Lewis Hamilton left the comfort and success at Mercedes, it wasn’t about the money. Hamilton left Mercedes — 12 seasons, six championships, every record that matters — for one reason. Ferrari was his dream team. It was always the dream.
The great Michael Schumacher won five titles there. The Tifosi are the most passionate fans in the sport. The red car carries weight that silver never did. Hamilton said Ferrari had “every ingredient” to win a championship. He talked about fulfilling a childhood dream. He wasn’t performing for the cameras. Hamilton meant it.
What nobody fully accounted for was how brutal the transition would be. Twelve years at Mercedes meant 12 years of muscle memory, engineering language, relationships, and culture built into everything he did. Hamilton arrived at Ferrari when the 2025 car was already finished — built without him. He had no input. He had to learn an entirely foreign machine while racing it against the world’s best drivers.
It didn’t work. He went the entire 2025 season without a Grand Prix podium for the first time in his career. Leclerc outqualified him 19 to 5. The points gap at year’s end: 86. Ferrari essentially shut down development midseason to focus on 2026, leaving Hamilton to fight with what he had. He went to Abu Dhabi, describing the year as “a nightmare” and said he “couldn’t wait to get away from all this.”
Where Hamilton and Ferrari Stand in 2026
He’s better. The numbers are real.
Fourth in Australia. Third in China — his first Ferrari Grand Prix podium, finally, after 25 races with Ferrari. Sixth in Japan. Forty-one points through three rounds. It’s his best start to a season since 2023 and more points than he had through five races of 2025.
The complicated part is right there on the timing sheet. Teammate Charles Leclerc has 49 points. Leclerc is third. Hamilton is fourth, eight points back, in the same car. The qualifying head-to-head this year is 0-3 in Leclerc’s favor. Japan was a real step backward — Hamilton finished sixth when the safety car should have handed him a podium shot.
He said on Christmas Day, he made a specific mental decision about how he was going to approach this season. He ran 63 miles between the Chinese and Japanese rounds. He’s been at the factory more. He helped build the SF-26 — something he never had with the car that made his life miserable last year.
“It’s a huge difference, and a huge undertaking,” Hamilton said about his second winter at Ferrari. “You can arrive and jump into a cockpit, but learning the new tools, particularly a different culture and a different way that people like to work, and adopting that.” He let the sentence hang there. He didn’t need to finish it.
Year one was surviving. Year two is supposed to be different. So far it’s a little of both.
Controversial 2026 F1 Regulations Haven’t Hurt Him
One thing working in Lewis Hamilton’s favor: the 2026 regulations wiped the slate clean for everyone.
New power units. Active aerodynamics. A completely different car that nobody, not Leclerc, not Verstappen, not Antonelli, had driven before February. Hamilton had actual input on the SF-26. Sky Sports F1’s David Croft made the point plainly: the fact that Hamilton helped develop this car is not a small thing.
Ferrari is legitimately fast. Heading into the 2026 Miami Grand Prix, they sit econd in the constructors’ standings. The prancing horse has a podium at every round. The SF-26 is a real car in a way the SF-25 never was.
The issue is Mercedes is faster. Hamilton isn’t fourth in the championship because he’s lost a step — he’s fourth because he’s in the third-quickest car most Sundays, behind a teammate with seven years of Ferrari DNA baked in. Those are two separate problems. Ferrari has to fix the first one. Hamilton has to fix the second himself.
The Leclerc & Hamilton Dynamic at Ferrari
Nobody is saying it out loud, but the numbers are saying it anyway.
Leclerc, 28, has been at Ferrari since 2019. He knows every engineer, every system, every nuance of how that team operates. He is, at this point, the closest thing to a Ferrari-bred driver since Schumacher.
Hamilton, 41, has seven championships and has put up the greatest statistical Formula 1 career in history. And right now, his teammate is outscoring and outqualifying him, and has been doing so consistently over two seasons.
In 2025 it wasn’t close. In 2026 the gap is smaller — China proved Hamilton can beat Leclerc on the same day when everything clicks. But Japan proved the gap can still open up in a hurry.
After the Chinese Grand Prix in March, Leclerc was candid and generous about their on-track battle.
“I actually really enjoyed the race. A little bit disappointed to lose out on the podium, but on the other side, I’m happy for Lewis, and I think he deserves it more than I do on a weekend like this, where he’s been more on top of things than me…I enjoyed the fight and the only big negative I would say is the gap to Mercedes.”
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur was equally positive about letting them race wheel-to-wheel. “They are professional and I think it makes sense in this situation to let them race…at the end of the day, I think it’s also the best way to build up a team.”
The moment Ferrari builds a car that can actually win a championship, this dynamic is going to force some decisions nobody at Maranello is going to enjoy making.
Hamilton’s Place as He Heads into Miami
Hamilton has won in Miami. The crowd in Miami came to Formula 1 partly because of him — the Netflix docuseries Drive to Survive turned him into a mainstream sports figure beyond motorsport years ago. He fits this city.
He needs this weekend. The championship math isn’t a crisis — 31 points back from Antonelli with 19 races left is very manageable. But two races of being outscored by Leclerc, a sixth in Japan, and a mediocre Miami will start generating a very familiar narrative about a 41-year-old running out of time.
One strong weekend flips that entirely. Ferrari’s upgrade cycle is coming. The car is going to get better. Hamilton knows this circuit.
He came to Ferrari to win a championship. The dream isn’t dead. But he’s 41 years old, in his second season at a team still finding itself, watching a 19-year-old break his records in the seat he used to own.
The window isn’t getting bigger. The Lewis Hamilton Miami Grand Prix showing needs to count.
