Bottas backs Hamilton to reset and reload for 2026 — and says we’re underrating Leclerc
Valtteri Bottas knows better than most how Lewis Hamilton works, what he needs, and how quickly he can switch it on. So when the Finn says Hamilton’s slower-than-expected start to life at Ferrari will give way to something sharper in 2026, you don’t file it under “wishful thinking” — you listen.
“It’s always a big change, especially for him,” Bottas told Motorsport.com’s Brazilian edition, reflecting on Hamilton’s move to Maranello after a lifetime at McLaren and Mercedes. “He spent a long time at Mercedes, so he got used to the way they work. He was very much the ‘team driver’, so it’s a big change, culturally, in terms of equipment, and language too. I think everyone agrees that it’s taking him longer than expected to adapt, but he has shown his speed at times.”
That’s the story of Hamilton’s 2025 so far. With three rounds left, the seven-time champion is staring at the possibility of a first Ferrari season without a Grand Prix podium — the China Sprint win aside — while Charles Leclerc has racked up seven podiums and built a 66-point buffer over his new teammate. Those aren’t flattering numbers for Hamilton, but they’re hardly the whole picture.
Inside the Ferrari garage, the gap has narrowed as the year’s gone on. And Bottas was quick to point out what many outside the bubble forget: Leclerc is, frankly, a monster on Saturdays and a menace on Sundays when the car’s underneath him. “Some people have underestimated Charles, how good he is,” Bottas said. That line matters. The Monegasque has been the yardstick at Ferrari for years, and the fact Hamilton’s been running him closer in the second half tells you adaptation is finally taking.
Still, the headline this winter is simple: all roads lead to 2026. The new chassis and power unit regulations are the cleanest break F1’s had since the hybrid era began, and with it comes a rare reset in the pecking order. Hamilton will chase that record eighth title with a fresh rulebook and a Ferrari project reshaped around the new era. Bottas’s verdict? “I think next year will show what he can still do. He has already proven everything he could in F1. I think he will be fine, he will be better next year.”
Ferrari needs that as much as Hamilton does. The team has been short of expectations in 2025, and the pressure has spilled into the open. After Brazil, chairman John Elkann told his star pairing to “focus on driving, talk less” as Maranello wrestles for second in the Constructors’ standings. Hamilton, as he tends to do, put his response on the record without naming names: “I back my team. I back myself. I will not give up. Not now, not then, not ever.”
Strip away the noise and you’re left with a familiar equation. Hamilton hasn’t forgotten how to build a season, and Ferrari hasn’t forgotten how to build a fast car. What’s been missing is rhythm — the trust in processes, the shorthand between driver and engineers, the translation of feel into setup with a team that’s essentially the Italian national squad. That takes more than a winter and a rollout to nail, and yes, it’s taken longer than almost anyone thought. But the curve is bending the right way, and the 2026 reset gives him a softer landing and a higher ceiling.
Leclerc, for his part, should be getting more credit in this conversation. He’s been relentlessly tidy this year, viciously quick over one lap and increasingly pragmatic in race trim. If Hamilton’s getting judged against that level, the analysis should reflect the quality of the opposition. Bottas’s point isn’t a dig — it’s context.
So, here’s the bet: if Ferrari delivers Hamilton and Leclerc a car that’s in the window early next year, expect the narrative to flip fast. The Briton’s adaptation curve meets a blank-slate rule set, and the internal pace spread we’ve seen lately becomes the baseline, not the ceiling. If the car’s there, Hamilton will be, too.
And should Ferrari stumble? Then this season’s grind goes on. But Bottas has spent enough Sundays watching Hamilton turn rough starts into ruthless finishes to know which way to lean. He’s backing a bounce-back. Given the stakes and the timing, that sounds like an educated wager.
