Chandhok urges caution ahead of Melbourne as Hamilton praises Ferrari’s ‘new energy’

Karun Chandhok has warned that it is too early to draw conclusions as Lewis Hamilton topped the Barcelona shakedown, and spoke of a “new energy” and “winning mentality” at Ferrari. 

Although lap times and counts were not officially disclosed from the behind-closed-doors test, Hamilton is understood to have set the fastest time, a 1:16.348 on soft tyres late in the final day.

Karun Chandhok urges patience at Ferrari ahead of Melbourne

Hamilton ended the shakedown a tenth up on George Russell and a quarter of a second ahead of Lando Norris. Ferrari’s SF-26 also covered the second highest number of laps behind only Mercedes, 500 to 442.

Hamilton was buoyed by Ferrari’s showing.

“We definitely have work to do to improve, of course, like everybody does,” he told F1TV.

“But I think we’ve had great debriefs. Everyone’s really on it. I really feel the winning mentality, like in every single person in the team, more than ever. So it’s a positive.

“Everyone’s positive and incredibly enthusiastic. I mean, we’re under no illusions. We know we’ve got work to do.

“Mercedes have done great running as well, I think Red Bull and Haas did some great running as well. So we don’t really know where we are.

“But I think it’s a solid first week, and we can really build from here.”

Formula 1’s season of change: F1 2026 explained

F1 2026 tech analysed: The future of overtaking and biggest car advantage identified
F1 2026 driver line-up: Lewis Hamilton and other drivers confirmed for 2026

But while the Briton was celebrating three decent days on track, former F1 driver Karun Chandhok warned him not to ahead of himself.

After all, Ferrari has walked away from pre-season testing fastest of all the last four years, and five in the last ten, but hasn’t won a World title since Kimi Raikkonen’s 2007 success. It’s last Constructors’ crown came in 2008.

“The proof will only come when we get to the first qualifying session at the first grand prix in Melbourne,” Chandhok told talkSPORT.

“In the last 12 years, F1 cars have been hybrids, but only 20 per cent of the power has come from electric. This year it is going to be 50-50.

“I don’t think we should read too much into testing or judge too much. Let’s wait and see when we get to Melbourne.”

The new engines are already the biggest controversy even before a lap has been turned in anger with Mercedes and Red Bull Powertrains said to have found a loophole in the working of the regulations that allows them to run a higher compression ratio out on track.

While the ratio is set at 16:1, that’s when it is measured in “ambient” conditions as per the FIA regulations, and their ratios increase when the engine begins running.

Said to be worth 15bhp, that could be as much as four-tenths per lap on the track.

The chassis and engine could be the least of Hamilton’s problems, however, as Chandhok remains perplexed as to why Ferrari has not secured a new race engineer for the seven-time world champion.

Arguably the most important person to a driver over the weekend, Hamilton and Riccardo Adami parted ways in the off-season after a tension-fraught first season together.

Ferrari is said to be keen on former Oscar Piastri’s engineer Cedric-Michel Grosjean but there has been no official announcement on the topic beyond Adami’s move.

“I find it honestly a little bit strange because why didn’t they make that decision in December? The relationship between the driver and their race engineer is so important for success,” Chandhok said.

“You think of a tennis player and their coach, they need to work together in sync 24 hours a day.”

Hamilton and Ferrari will have their second outing in the SF-26 at the Bahrain circuit later this month in a three-day test that runs from 11-13 February. They’ll return to the Sakhir circuit later in the month before heading to Melbourne for FP1 on 6 March.

Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.

You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!

Read next: What if the Honda PU rains on Adrian Newey’s parade?