Lewis Hamilton was beaming with pleasure at his turnaround within the 2026 System 1 marketing campaign, only a yr on from calling himself “ineffective” on the Hungarian Grand Prix.
The seven-time world champion suffered a Q2 exit in Budapest final season whereas Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc took pole, prompting a really downbeat Hamilton.
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He even claimed that Ferrari ought to exchange him, coming amid a disappointing debut season with the Scuderia, which capped off Hamilton’s struggles with floor impact vehicles.
However the regulation change for 2026 has been a lot kinder on the 41-year-old, who’s lastly driving a Ferrari that had his growth enter and is benefitting from private adjustments.
It has led to Hamilton arriving at this weekend’s Hungarian GP sitting second within the championship, helped by his first win for nearly two years at Barcelona in June.
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“I am pleased with everybody within the workforce and in addition I’m positively pleased with myself for getting myself out of the place that I used to be in,” mentioned Hamilton, who’s 45 factors behind championship chief Kimi Antonelli.
“Someday once I do my documentary, I am going to let you know all about that weekend [Hungary 2025] and what led up into it. However to come back from there, even coming into this week, I felt so much from final week, and I arrived worlds away from the place I used to be final yr, for which I am actually grateful for.
“Actually grateful for what we have developed as a workforce, the items to the puzzle which have moved and are available collectively, and now we come right here with an excellent automotive, with an excellent package deal as an entire, and that we will battle with.”
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Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Hamilton ought to have quite a lot of confidence for this weekend, notably when he holds the Hungarian GP win report (eight) and it’s the website of his final pole in 2023.
His Ferrari workforce has additionally been the closest challenger to Mercedes in 2026, being the one squad to take wins from the Silver Arrows in two (Barcelona and Silverstone) of 10 rounds.
There’s a good likelihood to make it three on the Hungaroring, contemplating it boasts loads of slow-to-medium velocity corners, that are a power of the SF-26.
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However team-mate Leclerc is keen to minimize expectations, as Ferrari was additionally arguably the favorite in Monaco, nevertheless it endured a messy weekend in comparison with the faultless Antonelli.
“I nonetheless personally anticipate Mercedes to be the reference,” mentioned Leclerc. “They’ll be very troublesome to beat on the qualifying lap.
“Nevertheless it’s additionally true that it is a observe that on paper ought to match our automotive somewhat bit higher. After all, you’ve got obtained automotive traits, you’ve got obtained weaknesses, you’ve got obtained strengths, and possibly our power is thru nook steadiness and the grip that now we have.
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“On a observe like this, it is crucial. So we may be somewhat bit nearer, however on the finish of the day, it is all in regards to the execution.
“In case you are somewhat bit misplaced, like we have seen in Monaco, the place we weren’t precisely on the proper window of the automotive, you lose greater than what the automotive traits make you acquire on a beneficial observe.
“In order that’s actually the place we attempt to focus.”
Learn Additionally:
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5 issues to look out for on the F1 Hungarian GP
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