Racing
© Liauzh
Lewis Hamilton’s first Ferrari victory in Barcelona has pushed him to second in the 2026 Formula 1 standings, but Carlos Sainz believes the breakthrough says as much about the new rules as it does about the driver.
Speaking to the Spanish press after the race, Sainz said Hamilton had turned around a difficult first year at Ferrari with a car that now fits him better. Hamilton joined Ferrari ahead of 2025, went through that season without a podium, then opened his recovery in 2026 with second places in Canada and Monaco before converting it into a first win in red in Barcelona. He now sits second in the championship behind Kimi Antonelli.
Sainz said Hamilton deserved major credit for that reversal, but argued the regulation reset played a decisive part. “Lewis also deserves a lot of credit for turning things around from last year to this year in the way he has,” Sainz said. “He’s also benefited from the regulation change because if he’d been stuck with last year’s car for another three years, maybe we wouldn’t be seeing the Lewis we’re seeing this season.”
He explained Hamilton’s resurgence through his own experience at Ferrari after the 2022 rules overhaul. Sainz said he started that season with a car that did not suit his natural style, while Charles Leclerc quickly extracted front-running pace from it, winning two of the first three races and spending much of the early campaign in the title fight. Sainz said only after adapting did he feel he was performing at a very high level in 2023 and 2024.
That, in Sainz’s view, is the real lesson from Hamilton’s rebound. “The real virtue of a driver is being able to adapt and being able to take whatever Formula 1 car you’re given and drive it at the limit,” he said. “Then you move to a team where the car is perfectly suited to your style and suddenly you look like a god. This sport is much more complicated than people think.”
The idea that the 2026 cars suit Hamilton better was also echoed by Ralf Schumacher on Sky’s Backstage Boxengasse podcast. Schumacher said the current cars have moved back toward what Hamilton knew from earlier in his career, with less underbody sensitivity and characteristics that better reward his late-braking style.
That makes Barcelona more than a first Ferrari win for Hamilton. It strengthens the case that the 2026 rules change has shifted the competitive picture in his favor, turning Ferrari’s long adaptation process into a championship fight.