Lewis Hamilton delivered his first elaborate assessment of Formula 1’s next-generation cars, praising their playful handling while simultaneously firing warning shots over their sluggish pace and brain-twisting energy systems.
Wednesday’s morning session on the opening day of pre-season testing in Bahrain was anything but serene for the Briton. Hamilton wrestled the scarlet SF-26 through gusty desert winds, ran wide on multiple occasions and even pirouetted through a full 360-degree spin before gathering the car and limping back to the pits.
By the end of his stint, he trailed Max Verstappen’s benchmark by a full second – a gap that underscored both Ferrari’s early work still ahead and Hamilton’s own work in progress in getting to grips with the Scuderia’s new mount.
‘Quite Fun’… But Slower Than Expected
Hamilton’s first impressions revealed a curious contradiction: these cars may be entertaining, but they’re hardly blistering.
“Front, rear, it’s a lot less downforce”, he told reporters after his session.
“The car is shorter, it’s lighter, it’s easier to catch. It’s quite fun, it’s like rallying a lot. I think we’re slower than GP2 right now, right? It does feel like that.”
It was a striking comparison – one that instantly ignited debate across the paddock.
For a driver synonymous with speed records and pole positions, the sensation of reduced pace clearly left a sour aftertaste, even as he admitted the livelier, more reactive feel behind the wheel brought a flicker of enjoyment.
Early Days, Fierce Winds and a Steep Learning Curve
Hamilton was quick to temper his criticism with context. The Bahrain winds were ferocious, the car still in its infancy, and Ferrari far from unlocking its full potential.
“I think not at the moment,” he said when asked of Ferrari’s F-26 appeared better suited to his driving style. “It doesn’t feel anything like the genre before. It’s really just too early days.
“With the baseline car that we have, we’re still trying to test lots of different things. We’re still trying to find the window that it likes to work in.
“We haven’t optimised the tyres, haven’t optimised the aero package yet, the ride height, the mechanical balance, all these different things. I’m not going to judge it just now.
“It didn’t feel great out there today with the wind. It was very, very gusty here. The gustiest I can remember it being here. We just have to take a little pinch of salt, plus it’s the first day here. In the morning it’s never fun. But in general, as I said in the last test, it’s a more fun car to drive.”
The message was clear: “fun to drive” does not yet mean effective. Ferrari – like every other team – is still searching for the elusive setup sweet spot in a radically reshaped technical landscape.
‘You Need a Degree’: Energy Systems Under Fire
If the cars’ speed left Hamilton uneasy, their complexity left him exasperated. The 2026-spec energy management systems, designed to be smarter and more adaptive, have already drawn his sharpest criticism.
“I mean, none of the fans are going to understand it, it’s so complex,” he said. ”It’s ridiculously complex. I sat in a meeting the other day and they’re taking us through it.
“It’s like you need a degree to fully understand it all. In terms of managing it, it’s pretty straightforward, I would say. Maybe in race trim it’s going to be different, we’ll see.
“But then also as a system that can automatically, once you finish a lap, it learns the way that you’re driving. Let’s say, for example, you lock up and go wide, you cover more distance, that affects that algorithm.
“So we’re just trying to get on top of it and understand it. But everyone’s in the same boat.”
Hamilton’s concern wasn’t merely technical – it was philosophical. Formula 1 has always balanced cutting-edge innovation with spectacle, but the Briton’s warning hints at a future where the technology risks outrunning the audience’s understanding.
For now, the verdict from the sport’s most decorated driver is tantalisingly conflicted: the new cars are playful yet ponderous, exciting yet exasperating. Entertaining, yes – but in Hamilton’s eyes, Formula 1’s brave new era still has plenty to prove before it truly earns its stripes.
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