Photo: Race Pictures

2026 prep for Hamilton taking shape: 'Several months of work already'

08:52, 20 Dec

byOlly Darcy

Lewis Hamilton has stated that preparations for the 2026 season have already been taking place for "several months".

"The break is the shortest that we've ever had. I’m not going to get much recovery time from the season."

- Lewis Hamilton

A dreadful year for the seven-time World Champion saw his Ferrari debut season fizzle out into a damp squib, missing out on a Grand Prix podium for the first time in his 19-year career.

With the sweeping regulatory changes coming into effect next year, laser-eyed focus has been trained on building machines for the 2026 season, marking the end of an era for the ground-effect cars.

The Australian Grand Prix in March 2026 will mark the start of the 2026 season, and with teams racing towards this date, huge amounts of work have already been undertaken by Hamilton and his team.

Lewis Hamilton ended his debut season with Ferrari down in P6 in the drivers' championship with just 156 points - Photo: RacePictures

"We've already been working in the background in 2026, several months," the Brit stated to GPblog and others in Abu Dhabi.

"Next week, we'll already be in the sim working on the next part. Obviously, we're doing the test, which is on the next season's tyres, and training will probably be before Christmas already.

"The break is the shortest that we've ever had. I’m not going to get much recovery time from the season."

Hamilton searching for improvements

The debut season at Ferrari for Hamilton was one to be forgetten, and quicky, with the Brit missing out on a Grand Prix podium for the first time in his 19-year career in the pinnacle of motorsport.

With the regulation change coming into effect next year, there will also be some potential changes coming from the seven-time champion.

"I think we just need to analyse where we've been, what's been good, and areas that we can improve on," Hamilton explained.

"I know where they all are. It's about sitting down with the team at the end of the year. I'll look internally at my personal team away from the track and see what we can do more to be more efficient with timing, travelling, and all these different things. I'll do the same with the team."

Hamilton wary of 2026 cars

With a major regulation overhaul coming into effect for the 2026 season, there is plenty of discussion as to how the new cars will fare out on track.

There were tentative remarks from Hamilton about the new era of cars, with the 40-year-old unsure about the new machines.

Mercedes CEO Toto Wolff has had his say about the new engines that will be used next season, claiming that cars could be reaching speeds of 400 km/h.

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