Seven-time World Drivers Champion, Sir Lewis Hamilton, crashed his car during his second debut test drive with Ferrari in Barcelona. It hit headlines quickly, and thankfully Hamilton left the scene uninjured, but most aren’t worried… Hamilton has a unique winning pattern in Formula One history. Could this minor incident lead to a 2026 season victory after adjusting to his new team? 

Expectations are severely high for Lewis right now because the athlete recently transferred from his Mercedes team of 11 years to the Ferrari team. Various fans have begun to feel hopeless for the past couple of seasons as Hamilton’s performance has been growing weaker than four-time world champion Max Verstappen’s. Has Lewis Hamilton hit his peak? Or will his new team lead to an incredible new era? 

“I don’t think it’s going to be his strongest season after being in a Mercedes for over a decade,” says Apex Senior and Formula One fan, Justin Bonestell. “He’s probably gonna start slow and pick it up later through the back end of the season.”

After the Barcelona test drive crash, people noticed a small pattern (possibly even a superstition) in his debut test drives. According to Hamilton’s history in Formula One, the first few test drives in a brand-new car have resulted in a headline-worthy crash. Ironically enough, Sir Lewis Hamilton was titled World Champion one year after these rookie incidents. 

This hope for a 2026 victory after noticing the trend has piqued the curiosity of plenty of enthusiasts. The pattern goes like this: The athlete crashed in his debut with McLaren in 2007, yet won in 2008. The same is true for the next team, as he got in a wreck with his first Mercedes in 2013 and won the World Champion title a year after in 2014.

“He’s in one of the quicker cars on the grid, so after he gets used to it I wouldn’t be surprised if he makes a big push,” says Bonestell on the matter of the pattern.

Now with Hamilton on Ferrari, that leaves Carlos Sainz Jr. on team Williams. The goodbye was tough for the entire Mercedes team, but Toto Wolff, Mercedes’ boss, urged Hamilton to find his people. According to recent interviews, it sounds like he did that exactly. 

Hamilton is extremely excited for this new season, and everyone can’t wait to see how he performs in this new stage in his career. We, fans, also cannot deny that red is clearly his color.