Lewis Hamilton returned to the fight for the Formula 1 title in 2026, after a change of scenery at Ferrari. For Damon Hill, former driver and 1996 F1 champion, the Italian team’s recovery is directly linked to the influence exerted by the seven-time champion behind the scenes.
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After a difficult debut season with Ferrari in 2025, Hamilton currently holds second place in the drivers’ championship this year. With one win and four other podiums, he is 50 points behind leader Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes, experiencing his most competitive phase since 2021.
According to Hill, the transformation began during the off-season. The former driver stated that Hamilton worked together with Ferrari to develop a 2026 car adapted to his characteristics, while the team started to consider his suggestions more directly. In the Briton’s assessment, this partnership put Scuderia back in the championship fight.
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“The best always end up standing out, don’t they? If you cut Lewis in half, you’d find just a competitor. He wants to win at everything he does. I don’t think it’s in his nature to accept being left behind. He worked hard during the off-season and made it clear how he wanted Ferrari to be to suit his style,” Hill told the official Formula 1 website.
Hill believes that the weight of Hamilton’s name was decisive for this change in attitude within the Italian team: “Ferrari hired him and invested a lot of money in him. So he said: ‘I’m not just going to sit here and do everything your way. I’m going to show you how I work, and you’re going to adapt the car for me.’ The power and reputation he has are being used to protect him, and he’s right to do so,” concluded the former British driver.
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