Lewis Hamilton expects ‘critical’ driver role in F1 2026

Lewis Hamilton believes that the driver will have a “critical” role to play in the new era of Formula 1, as new chassis and engine regulations come into effect for F1 2026.

Hamilton also suggested that “it’s going to take a lot of work from the engineers” to ensure that their driver can operate at their very best out on track, with factors such as active aerodynamics, and a more electrified power unit among the changes in play.

Lewis Hamilton expects ‘critical’ driver role

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Hamilton, the seven-time World Champion, has been a part of the Formula 1 grid since 2007. He has seen plenty of regulatory shifts in that time, but never one this stark, he claims.

The unofficial Barcelona shakedown run is underway, as teams and drivers get to grips with their smaller, lighter cars. These machines make use of active aerodynamics on both the front and rear wings, and are powered by new 50/50 electric and biofuel engines.

Often a popular topic for debate is that of how much of a difference the driver can make in modern F1 machinery. Hamilton believes the answer will be a big difference under these new regulations.

“The regulation shift is monumental. I mean, it’s the biggest regulation shift I think our sport has seen, at least in my time,” he told Sky F1.

“But every single time that it has been a shift into a new regulation, it’s been a massive challenge. Everyone starts from scratch, so it really levels the playing field, and then it’s really all about development. Who can develop faster, who comes up with the best ideas, and then a unified team rowing at the same pace.

“I think the way the sport is evolving, and the way that technology has evolved into this period of time, I mean, the drivers have always…if you look back at 2009, there’s a period of time where we were utilising the battery power throughout the laps. This one’s even more extreme, where we’re having to utilise the power in a different way.

“I think it is the most technical year that we will have.

“I think the driver’s role is going to be critical in not only pulling laps together and delivering good results, but managing the power unit, managing the power through a lap, and also the new kind of DRS system that we have with the wings, the front and the rear wing moving, and then helping the team navigate.

“And the only way is through collaboration, through communication, and that’s really where I think the drivers get to play a really key role in helping them discover exactly where we need to be going with these cars.”

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Also to play a key role, Hamilton says, is the engineers.

“As drivers, we adapt. That’s what we do,” he continued.

“It’s going to be a massive challenge this year, for sure, for every driver to adapt to, particularly the power unit.

“I think the the aero side of things, I’m not seeing that to be massively different in the sense that, okay, our front wing drops away, we have a lot less drag down the straights, so we will be much, much quicker. It’s going to be interesting to see how that works when you’re potentially overtaking, but we’ve had DRS for many, many years, and so I think it’s an evolution of that.

“The power unit, however, is a lot lot different, and whilst it’s still the V6 recharging this battery, the derates that you have, and really trying to understand how to utilise the power per straight and recover it the most and be the most efficient, this is the period of time where you have to learn to be the most efficient driver that you’ve ever been.

“And that’s utilising all the tools you have in your armoury as a driver, to save fuel, to recharge power, utilise the power, use the grip, and put all these things together.

“I think it’s going to take a lot of work from the engineers to communicate and help the drivers to be able to extract everything and its full potential.”

Hamilton will get a new race engineer for F1 2026 after the former holder of that post, Riccardo Adami, was moved to a new role within Ferrari.

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