Former Formula 1 world champion Nigel Mansell believes Lewis Hamilton has regained his competitive edge this season. Hamilton recently ended his 16-month podium drought with a third-place finish at the Chinese Grand Prix, marking his first rostrum finish since joining Ferrari in 2025. Notably, he has also narrowed the gap with teammate Charles Leclerc in terms of pace, a significant improvement from the previous year.
The new regulations seem to favor Hamilton's driving style, and Mansell does not rule out the possibility of the seven-time world champion securing a win this season. "Lewis is fired up again, and it's fantastic to see him performing at such a high level," Mansell told Sky Sports News. Hamilton attributes his resurgence to better preparation and the fact that Ferrari has done an excellent job over the winter.
He feels that the new car is more suited to his driving style, which was not the case with the previous generation of F1 cars. Hamilton had expressed his struggles with the car last year, citing that it was not built with his input and did not align with his driving style. However, he worked closely with the engineers during the off-season, and the team has incorporated some of the changes he requested into this year's car. Mansell, who was involved in several intense title battles during his career, including duels with Nelson Piquet in the 1980s, thinks that this year's F1 Drivers' Championship could become a two-horse race between Mercedes drivers George Russell and Kimi Antonelli.
With Antonelli currently leading Russell by nine points, Mansell believes that Russell needs to draw on his experience to win the intra-team battle and become world champion.