Hamilton reflects on ‘better-than-expected’ winter testing for Ferrari

17:42, 29 Jan

Updated: 18:08, 29 Jan

byOlly Darcy

Lewis Hamilton cut a positive figure after his morning session during day four winter testing, saying Ferrari week has been "better than previously experienced".

"I did 85 laps in the morning, which is amazing, and that's really down to all the people at the factory."

- Lewis Hamilton

The 41-year-old took to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Thursday as the first week of testing for the 2026 season entered its penultimate day.

Teams and drivers continued to rack up huge amounts of mileage and collect vital data before more winter tests in Bahrain. Hamilton finished P3 at the end of the morning session, which was topped by Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes.

But despite being off the German team, the seven-time World Champion was full of praise after completing many laps throughout the morning session.

Lewis Hamilton finished the 2025 season without a Grand Prix podium for the first time in his F1 career - Photo: Race Pictures

"When you come to the test, you always want to get a lot of mileage," the seven-time World Champion started by saying.

"Today, I did 85 laps in the morning, which is amazing, and that's really down to all the people at the factory who have done such a great job to make sure the car so far is really reliable.

"Last year, we had a worse start to testing. So this is actually, considering it's a completely new band of rules, it's better than we've experienced in the past. So I'm really hopeful that it continues."

Leclerc back behind the wheel

After Hamilton piled up laps in the morning, teammate Charles Leclerc will take to the Catalunya circuit for the afternoon session to round off Ferrari's day four running.

"For us, it's still to continue to try and get as much mileage and knowledge on this engine and on the car and the aero side," the Brit said on Ferrari's afternoon session plans.

"We went through a programme this morning, found some learnings, Charles is doing a different set this afternoon, which is great.

Lewis Hamilton's first SF-26 laps came at the Fiorano track - Photo: Race Pictures

"My role is to listen to as much as possible, and at the end of the day, we both come together, and we both talk about our problems, the positives, and the negatives.

"Then we'll come up with a plan of what we want to tackle tomorrow as our last day. But already, we've got good data so far, so it's just understanding that and making sure you're making really clear and concise decisions in terms of what to test moving forward before we get to Bahrain."

In the afternoon session, Aston Martin have reportedly taken to the track for the first time all week, while an impressive week for Mercedes continues as George Russell becomes the first driver to unofficially break through the one-minute-17-second barrier with some outstanding pace.

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