A secret hack being used by Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari has been revealed by Italian media, and it may explain his renaissance in the sport.
Hamilton is enjoying a period of rejuvenation at the age of 41 this season, fighting back after a difficult 2025, culminating in a return to the top step of the podium last time out at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.
Before that win in Barcelona, Hamilton had enjoyed back-to-back second-place finishes, and his brilliant points haul over the last three race weekends has put him into second in the drivers’ championship, behind Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli.
There is real hope that the Brit will be able to claim an unprecedented eighth world championship title, now just 41 points behind Antonelli in the race to become champion.
Now, Corriere della Sera have revealed some of the potential reasons behind his renaissance, detailing where Hamilton has been able to match Ferrari’s car to his needs.
How has Hamilton turned things around at Ferrari?
Hamilton admitted last year that he had sent off pages and pages of documents on things that Ferrari needed to work upon in order to get back to championship-winning ways, and that included some characteristics of the car that he felt would help him to perform.
The above publication are reporting that this included the car having a predictable rear end, with the seven-time champion liking to have confidence that the car won’t step out on him in high-speed corners.
This led to a decision to invest heavily in the downforce generated by the rear, something that should suit both Hamilton and Charles Leclerc better, and that philosophy is evident from the work carried out on the underbody and diffuser of the SF-26.
But the above publication also state that Hamilton has stumbled across something in recent weeks which is really helping his performance levels.
They state that Hamilton has used testing days at the private Fiorano circuit to gain a better understanding of how to harness the power of the SF-26, particularly when lifting off and reapplying the throttle.
The impression is that Hamilton has learnt to be more efficient in his use of energy when exiting corners, avoiding overloading the rear axle which would cause the wheels to spin.
