Hamilton says Ferrari finally allows him to “feel like myself”
24th May 2026Lewis Hamilton believes progress is finally being made at Ferrari after showing competitive pace throughout the Canadian Grand Prix weekend.
Feature image credit: Ferrari Media Centre
The 41-year-old qualified P5 for both Saturday’s Sprint race and Sunday’s Grand Prix in Montreal, finishing ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc in both qualifying sessions as Ferrari showed encouraging signs of progress.
After a difficult 2025, adapting to life with the Scuderia, Hamilton admitted he feels both his side of the garage and the car are now moving in the right direction following a solid start to the 2026 season.
Hamilton said: “Honestly, for me, my engineering team is now just where I need it and we’ve finally got the car this weekend in a place where I really feel like myself, and I really hope that continues,” said Hamilton after Qualifying in Montreal.
“I don’t need to change up my team, we just need to keep on working and do what works for me. I’ll prepare the same for the next race and hopefully we’ll be a bit better next race.”
“It came from nowhere” – Russell reacts to dramatic Canadian pole
Qualifying for the Grand Prix offered further encouragement, with Hamilton ending the session in P5, less than three tenths away from Mercedes pole-sitter George Russell despite a mistake on his final lap.
The Ferrari driver lost time before the lap had properly begun after failing to activate Straight Mode on the run to Turn 1 before later running wide at the exit of Turn 7.
Hamilton added: “I was feeling great up until the last lap. Basically, I did a good prep, I came out of the last corner to start the lap and didn’t get the SM [Straight Mode] on and by the time I realised into Turn 1, I was down two tenths.
“I caught some of it back but then had that wide moment. When you’re pushing and trying to get everything out it can be on the knife-edge.”
Sainz says Williams “underdelivered” after Canadian qualifying setback
Despite missing out on a place further up the grid, Hamilton remained encouraged by Ferrari’s overall pace and believes changing weather conditions on Sunday could bring him into contention.
Rain is expected to threaten the race in Montreal, which could create opportunities for Hamilton and Ferrari to get ahead of McLaren and Mercedes.
Hamilton continued: “The car was feeling good and the team did a really great job, so I hope tomorrow when the weather is better, when it’s raining, hopefully we have a good chance.”
Read more Formula 1 here:
- “It came from nowhere” – Russell reacts to dramatic Canadian pole
- Sainz says Williams “underdelivered” after Canadian qualifying setback
- George Russell takes Canadian Grand Prix pole with Mercedes front row
- Russell takes Canada GP sprint victory as Antonelli disagrees
- Steward’s grant Lawson and Albon permission to race in Canadian Sprint
- Hamilton credits revised preparation after strongest qualifying display of season
- Russell hails Mercedes upgrade push after Canadian Sprint pole
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