Ross Brawn believes a "vintage" Lewis Hamilton can still emerge at Ferrari in 2026 if the team's competitiveness improves. The former Ferrari technical director, who oversaw Michael Schumacher's title-winning era, shared his hopes for Hamilton's second season ahead of the Scuderia's new car launch on Friday.

Hamilton's first year in red was a career-low, failing to win a Grand Prix and finishing fourth in the Constructors' Championship. He was soundly beaten by teammate Charles Leclerc and will have a new race engineer this season. Ferrari's 17-year title drought adds pressure to adapt to F1's radical new regulations.

Brawn, who later signed Hamilton for Mercedes, noted the team's internal dynamics are key. "It's always a fine line between a team gelling and not quite gelling," he said. The upcoming tests in Barcelona and Bahrain will be the first real measure of Ferrari's progress under team principal Frederic Vasseur.