Lewis Hamilton says he is more connected to his Ferrari SF-26

Hamilton suffered from a woeful maiden campaign with the Scuderia, finishing the 2025 season without a single podium appearance despite early promise after winning the Sprint Race over the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix weekend.

Other than that, the Briton suffered multiple Q1 qualifying knockouts while being outperformed by teammate Charles Leclerc, who managed to extract more from Ferrari's 2025 single-seater.

Speaking on the first day of the second preseason test in Bahrain, he insisted he felt positive about the 2026 season ahead, his 20th in the sport.

He said: "I always try to enter into a season with confidence, but of course, you’re faced with all sorts of different challenges along the way.

"I’ve obviously gone through quite a bit, and for me, all of last year is behind me. I spent a lot of time rebuilding over this winter, refocusing, really getting my body and mind to a much better place.

"I genuinely feel, personally, in the best place that I’ve been in a long time with rearranging things within my team.

"With the car, I think we’ve started off quite well so far," Hamilton pointed out. "It’s an exciting time with the new generation of cars because it’s all brand new; we’re all trying to figure it out on the go.

"Last year we were locked into a car that ultimately I inherited. This is a car that I’ve been able to be a part of developing on the simulator, and so a bit of my DNA is within.

"I’m more connected to this one, for sure," Hamilton, a winner of a record 105 Grands Prix, concluded.

Hamilton will be in the SF-26 for the PM session of Day 1 in Bahrain after Leclerc topped the morning session. (Reporting by Agnes Carlier)