After scoring P2 in Montreal, his best-ever finish for Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton expressed delight at being back among the top spots after what was a torrid debut year with the Scuderia, when the Briton became the first driver in 44 years to go a full season without scoring a podium in red.

But it has not taken long upon 2026's restart for Hamilton to put that unwanted record in the past. The seven-time world champion secured his first Ferrari podium in Shanghai in March before going one better in Canada after an impressive late overtake on Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

There ought to be a number of reasons why Hamilton has turned his Ferrari fortunes around in 2026 - a switch from the previous era of ground-effect cars, which Hamilton's driving style was never able to gel with, to the snappier, smaller SF-26, which has also had more of his own input, has proven to be a key one.

Another has come in the Briton's environment, with Hamilton particularly praising his new race engineer Carlo Santi after the Canadian GP. Santi was brought in to replace Riccardo Adami following a difficult 2025 campaign, and while that initially looked like a temporary replacement, there appears little reason to change things given Hamilton's words in Canada.

He said: “I chose a different set-up this weekend through just ciphering through the data, working really well with my engineer. He’s absolutely awesome and I’m really loving working with him. And my number two did a fantastic job this weekend and helped me really pull more performance out of the car, getting into a much sweeter place.

Elsewhere, GPblog understands that FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem is hoping to get rid of the maximum three term limit for an FIA president on June 26 in Macau, during the governing body’s General Assembly.

GPblog also reported that Ben Sulayem’s proposal is expected to go through, as he has sufficient support, particularly from the smaller member organizations. The Emirati was re-elected as president at the end of 2025 after succeeding Jean Todt in 2021.

Should the proposal be approved, Ben Sulayem would be able to continue as FIA President beyond the current 12-year limit. On the latest F1 Paddock Update, Kimberley and Hunt discuss the ins and outs of the proposal, and what it could mean for the future of F1.

Elsewhere on the latest episode, the hosts discuss Gucci's upcoming venture into F1 as Alpine's new title sponsor, while also raising the idea of the Brazil GP returning as the sport's season finale.