Lewis Hamilton promised that we will never see last year’s “mindset” again as he declared himself “reset and refreshed” for F1 2026.

Hamilton admits that he “forgot who I was” for a time, but is raring to go after an impressive pre-season for Ferrari, one which has the Scuderia being talked about as title contenders. Hamilton has promised that “one hell of a season” is coming.

Lewis Hamilton: ‘I know what needs to be done’

The sport’s most successful team and driver united in time for F1 2025, but it was a harrowing first season in Ferrari red for Hamilton.

He went all of 2025 without a podium, that the first time in his F1 career that he has failed to score one in a season.

That led to some alarmingly negative outbursts from Hamilton, and chatter over whether he would carry on with Ferrari.

But, Hamilton, in an Instagram post following Bahrain testing, made it clear that “I’m not going anywhere” as he looks to embark on a fresh push for that record eighth title.

While Ferrari topped Bahrain testing via Charles Leclerc, what has really caught the eye in the paddock is Ferrari’s pace pace. It had McLaren team principal Andrea Stella declaring Ferrari, plus Mercedes, as the “teams to beat” in F1 2026.

It is clear that Hamilton is more than up for the fight, as the new era of Formula 1 begins.

“That’s a wrap on testing,” his post began.

“It’s inspiring to watch a team pull out all the stops to build a car. It’s the most fascinating part of this job for me. Everything is built from scratch and designed and redesigned over and over.

“And then there are only a few of us who get to put that machine to the test. That feeling never gets old.