Barcelona Test 2026 day-2: Hamilton’s debut takes place in the rain

Lewis Hamilton opened his 2026 pre-season tests today. The Ferrari Brit inherited the car from Charles Leclerc in the afternoon and did not spare himself despite the rain which inevitably complicated operations for Ferrari and Red Bull, the only teams working on the Barcelona track. For Hamilton, today was only the second approach with the SF-26 after the very brief shakedown on January 23rd which took place on Ferrari’s home track, Fiorano. The #44, who used both full wet and intermediate tyres, evidently wanted to work and get to know the new car despite the bad weather. In fact, in the afternoon stint the seven-time world champion broke the 40-lap limit. An encouraging sign in a season that will be crucial for the Stevenage veteran, called upon to redeem his disastrous first season in red, which ended without even a podium appearance for the first time during his illustrious career. Of course, it is still very early to be able to draw any conclusions regarding the feeling that Hamilton has with the SF-26, but if nothing else, reliability seems to have accompanied this afternoon on the track for the Englishman.