Lewis Hamilton's positivity ahead of the 2026 Formula 1 season is good news

The seven-time F1 Champion revealed that he had struggled to remember who he was but insists he had had a full reset over the winter and is ready to go in 2026.

And that is something good according to former F1 driver Riccardo Patrese, who also touched on the driver dynamic within Ferrari with Charles Leclerc partnering Hamilton.

Patrese said: "At the moment Charles Leclerc still has that anger because he hasn't won the championship yet, which he and many people had expected. He really is desperate to be a world champion.

"He is in the right mood if he has the right car and can clash with Max Verstappen.

"It's good news, though, that Lewis has this," he added, moving on to Hamilton's situation. "If he is positive now after last year, which was horrible, just to see Lewis feeling better about himself is good news for the sport.

"Last year I felt a little bit sorry for him because you could see that he was suffering in the situation, not being competitive and not finding the right solutions with the car to improve things.

"So, he was frustrated. He must have this kind of feeling now at the beginning of a season because during the winter you recharge the batteries," he added.

Patrese also claims that Hamilton still has what it takes to fight for wins and championships provided that Ferrari give him a decent car.

The SF-26 has been praised by pundits and Ferrari rivals following preseason testing, and while Leclerc was the fastest in Bahrain, history shows that one should be wary not to be overoptimistic since it is not the first time the Scuderia has won the preseason championship and lost the actual one.

Patrese commented: "I always said the turning point would be to give Lewis Hamilton a good car to compete to win races and maybe the championship. If this is the case, I think Lewis can be competitive and win races and maybe the championship.

"Ferrari went well at the end of the test. For our Tifosi, it's good, but many times they have shown they are very good at the beginning in testing, and then nothing happens in the season.

"So, we have to check everything and wait and see," the winner of six Grands Prix warned before concluding: "I repeat, if Ferrari can provide a good car to him [Hamilton], I think we can still see a very good Lewis in the battle."