Eddie Irvine doesn’t think Lewis Hamilton’s start to the season has been outstanding – for the former Ferrari driver, China was more of a positive outlier for the Brit
After the end of the ground effect era in Formula 1, is Lewis Hamilton back to his old strength? The fact that the record world champion clinched his first ever podium finish for Ferrari in his second race under the new regulations in China suggests that this is the case.
Ex-Ferrari driver Eddie Irvine warns against jumping to conclusions, however. “I wouldn’t take it for granted,” he told La Gazzetta dello Sport when asked whether Hamilton had now overcome his crisis.
“China was his first podium with Ferrari, but it’s also his track,” explained Irvine. In fact, the Shanghai International Circuit is one of Hamilton’s best circuits on the Formula 1 calendar. With six victories, Hamilton is the record winner of the China GP.
And even in 2025, when he did not take a single podium in the entire calendar year, he at least won the sprint in Shanghai. According to Irvine, there is therefore a lot to suggest that China could have been a positive outlier for Hamilton rather than the new normal.
After all, the following race in Suzuka presented a completely different picture. “In Japan, on the other hand, he was outclassed by Charles Leclerc throughout the weekend,” explained the 1999 runner-up relentlessly.
Teammate Leclerc finished third on the podium there, while Hamilton was only sixth. Although the two were separated by just ten seconds at the finish line, Leclerc had already beaten Hamilton to P4 in third place at the season opener in Melbourne.
Including the sprint in China, the internal race duel between Leclerc and Hamilton is currently 3:1 in favor of the Monegasque. The Grand Prix in Shanghai was the only race in which Hamilton saw the chequered flag before his team-mate.
In fact, Irvine is not very happy with the new Formula 1 regulations for 2026. “I don’t like it at all. There definitely need to be changes. It can’t be that everything revolves around how full the battery is,“ said the 60-year-old.
”I love electric cars, I have four of them,“ emphasized Michael Schumacher’s long-time team-mate, ”but there’s no point in trying to make the premier class environmentally friendly.” In addition, Oliver Bearman’s accident in Suzuka showed that the new regulations are also “dangerous”.