Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari Hunt

Lewis Hamilton has yet to stand on a Grand Prix podium for Ferrari this year. His only top-three finish with the Scuderia so far was that thrilling Sprint race win in China. While he's had several strong finishes, including multiple fourth-place results, that elusive Grand Prix podium remains just out of reach.

Lewis Hamilton is currently, as we understand it, working diligently on the Ferrari SF-26 in preparation for the monumental 2026 regulation changes.

He's doing this while still chasing down podiums with the current car. And knowing Lewis, like we know Lewis, he's not going to give up on the 2025 season. However, the smart thing to do at this point is to focus heavily on the SF-26, which will be the new Ferrari for the revolutionary era coming in 2026.

But I can't help but ask: should a Formula 1® car be so hypersensitive that it's only ever designed to work for one driver?

We're seeing a similar phenomenon at Red Bull with Max Verstappen. While Charles Leclerc seems to be getting on with the Ferrari SF-25, and though any Formula 1® driver will tell you the car isn't "running right" or the balance isn't perfect, we are only talking about tenths, milliseconds, and fractions of a second around a race track, why can Charles do it and Lewis can't? 

What also baffles me is that Charles can get it to work to a degree, but Lewis, the most statistically successful driver of all time, cannot do so consistently.

Similarly, Max Verstappen is phenomenal in his Red Bull Formula 1® car; yet, Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson, despite their own talents, have struggled immensely to make it work for them. Hopefully, these hypersensitive nuances, which inadvertently favour only one specific driving style within a team, will be stamped out in the 2026 regulations, creating more adaptable machinery.

Personally, I want Lewis to win his eighth World Drivers' Championship. 

When you see sporting legends like Stephen Hendry and Ronnie "The Rocket" O’Sullivan, both holding seven world snooker titles, you can't help but want to see these older sportsmen in a younger man's game to achieve that record-breaking eighth.

And let’s face it, and I don't want to dig up old graves, but without the controversial Michael Masi decision in Abu Dhabi, where Max won his first WDC, Lewis would already be an eight-time World Drivers' Champion.

As the clock ticks down towards 2026, the landscape of Formula 1® is changing rapidly.

Cadillac F1® is coming to Formula 1®, Audi is joining Formula 1®, and the Andretti family, with Mario Andretti as a keen influencer, remains determined to join. 

The sport is growing, becoming more popular than ever, with every race weekend selling out. 

I have been working in the sport for twenty-five years, and the growth in young children, girls, and the geographical and demographical reach is growing by the hour.

And as always, when the lights go out and the drama unfolds, here at Senate Grand Prix, there is only one winner, and that's you, the race fans!