Lewis Hamilton has taken a completely opposite stance to Max Verstappen on the 2026 F1 regulations, saying that he has experienced the best racing of his F1 career this year. His old rival has been critical of the new regulations, saying that they were actually anti-racing.
Verstappen had already been extremely critical of the new regulations before the 2026 season even began, and his opinion certainly hasn’t changed two races in. After the Chinese GP, the Dutchman launched his most explosive rant yet about the new rules, saying that the regulations were “terrible,” claiming that anybody who is enjoying the racing this year does not understand the sport.
Verstappen’s rival, Lewis Hamilton, is standing on the exact opposite side of the 2026 rules, praising them greatly after the race in China. Asked about the quality of racing this year in the post-race press conference, the Briton replied, saying:
“Yeah, the cars are easier to follow, much better than past years. You can get very close. There’s not a bad wake where you’re losing too much downforce. I think it’s the best racing that I’ve ever experienced in Formula 1.
“It felt like go-karting, back and forth, back and forth, and you could really position your car in a nice way where there was a thin piece of paper between us sometimes, but we didn’t exchange any paint.”
Verstappen even dismissed the idea that the fight at the front was particularly entertaining in China or Australia, pointing out that it has largely been a straightforward battle between the two Mercedes drivers, with Ferrari jumping ahead with strong starts only momentarily.
The 4x world champion even claimed that the overtakes depended solely on the driver in front running out of battery, rather than any real driver skill.
Lewis Hamilton says first F1 win with Ferrari “more in sight than ever before”
Lewis Hamilton has claimed that his first F1 win with Ferrari seems “more in sight than ever before” after his first podium with the team at the Chinese GP. The 41-year-old said that while it would be difficult to beat Mercedes in 2026, a race win for him was definitely more likely this year than it was in 2025.
When asked about eyeing a win this season during the post-race press conference, Hamilton replied:
“I definitely feel that I could say that it’s more in sight than ever before. Last year it couldn’t have been further from view. But I think as you’ve seen, these guys [Mercedes] in qualifying, somehow we were a little bit closer in qualifying yesterday, but in the race trim I think they’ve got four or five tenths on us at the moment.
“That’s a huge step to pick up, both in downforce and efficiency and also power. That’s a huge upgrade that we need to push for.”
But Hamilton added that he still believed in everyone working back at Ferrari’s Maranello-based factory to try and find ways to get closer to Mercedes in the new regulations era, and that the team will keep pushing throughout the year.
Edited by Hitesh Nigam
