Sergio Perez pinpoints Lewis Hamilton’s main problem at Ferrari as 2026 prediction made

Perez will return to the F1 grid next season after signing with the new Cadillac team.

Sergio Perez pinpoints Lewis Hamilton’s main problem at Ferrari as 2026 prediction made

Perez will team up with Valtteri Bottas at the American team, who will compete in their inaugural season in F1 in 2026.

The new season will bring about major rule changes related largely to the power units, while there is also an all-new rear braking system.

Each power unit will have significantly more electrical energy contained within it, with the MGU-K set to produce 350kW in 2026 – up from 120kW of energy in 2025.

There have been question marks over the past four years about whether the current era of ‘ground-effect’ cars, which are intended to produce more downforce and increase cornering speed, have had an impact on certain drivers’ driving and braking styles.

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One of the names regularly mentioned is that of Hamilton, with Mercedes technical director Andrew Shovlin claiming last year that the ground-effect cars had impacted the Brit’s usually flawless qualifying performances.

This season, Hamilton’s average grid position is seventh – the third-lowest figure of his career, behind last year and in 2009, when his McLaren team were significantly off the pace.

He failed to make Q3 in the recent Belgian and Hungarian Grands Prix, qualifying 16th and 12th respectively in those races.

During an appearance on ‘The F1 Show’ on Tuesday, Sky journalist Craig Slater asked former Red Bull driver Perez about whether the current regulations had been having an adverse impact on himself and Hamilton in particular – and he gave an interesting answer.

“I think this era of cars that we’re currently in, it’s been tricky,” he said. “But obviously I think with Lewis, you have seen, he’s done a tremendous job at Mercedes when they didn’t have a competitive car.

“I think, for him, at the end of an era, to be changing teams and getting to adapt, it’s tricky. But he’s a fantastic driver, and for sure he’ll figure it out.

“We’ve seen it with many different drivers, it’s all about adapting a car to a driving style. Sometimes it just takes a little bit longer than others.

“I’ve done well in previous eras and I do expect that the new regulations will suit my style.”