Lewis Hamilton says the Ferrari SF-26 is is really reliable

Hamilton's first time driving the SF-26 in Barcelona was on a raining Tuesday and he admitted he didn't really get a feel for it.

The Briton's morning run on the penultimate day at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya delivered the time he needed in the SF-26 in dry conditions.

Reflecting on his run, Hamilton said: "It was nice to get out in the dry and do some running because obviously our first day was in the miserable wet weather.

"I drove in Fiorano just two laps to feel the car, so it was great to be able to get some running and understand the tyres.

"We did the C2 and C1. It was so cold that the tyres are not really working so much, but we got through our program and a bit of an understanding of where the car is at and where we need to improve," he explained.

Hamilton had a torrid maiden season with Ferrari in 2025 and would be hoping for a better one in 2026.

When asked how the start has been so far, he responded: "When you come to the test, you always want to get a lot of mileage.

"Today, I did 85 laps in the morning, which is amazing. That’s really down to all the people in the factory who have done such a great job to make sure that the car, so far, is really reliable.

"Last year we had a worse start to testing. So, considering this is a completely new band of rules, it’s better than we’ve experienced in the past, so I’m really hopeful that continues," he concluded.

Hamilton is yet to have a new race engineer after the departure of Riccardo Adami. He is being engineered by Bryan Bozzi, Charles Leclerc's engineer. (Source: F1 TV)