Lewis Hamilton says he feels as though he has successfully "managed to move a lot of things on the chessboard" in his second year at Ferrari, as he hailed the impact of his race engineer amid his positive start to the 2026 season.
Hamilton heads into this weekend's Monaco Grand Prix on the back of his best result for Ferrari so far last time out in Montreal, when he finished second. It marked his second podium finish for the team in five races, after none across 24 events in 2025.
After 13 years at Mercedes, Hamilton has admitted previously that it took him time to adjust to life at Ferrari, with last season proving the least successful of his illustrious F1 career.
However he believes he and the team are now in a far better place together.
"It's a lot different this whole year compared to last year," said Hamilton on Thursday in Monaco.
"A lot of pawns have moved, managed to move a lot of things on the chessboard, and reposition myself, I think, within the team.
"We're working really well together. I've got the right engineers now that I need. They're doing a great job.
"I feel like I've obviously had input into this year's car and it's moving in a direction that I particularly like.
"These things take time, and I'm grateful that we are where we are, but we've got a lot of work going forwards. It's not a given that we're going to be competitive everywhere we go."
In a key change made ahead of his second season at Ferrari, Hamilton's engineering team is now led by Italian race engineer Carlo Santi, who replaced Riccardo Adami in the role.
Hamilton famously worked with Peter 'Bono' Bonnington throughout his time at Mercedes, with the pair forging the most successful driver-engineer combination in the sport's history. By contrast, the Hamilton-Adami dynamic appeared far less smooth, particularly in team radio discussions, last season.
But five races in to his time working closely with Santi, Hamilton says he has seen similarities between the 52-year-old Italian and Bonnington, who now works with championship leader Kimi Antonelli.
"The driver-engineer working together is very, very important," said Hamilton.
"Last year Adami and I had a really good relationship. He's a lovely guy. We work relatively well together.
"I think catering to a driver's needs takes time to learn.
"When you're giving an engineer feedback, their understanding of corner balance, their understanding of all the elements that contribute to the struggles that you're struggling with, when you try to describe what it is, the problem you have, corner by corner, entry, main and exit, or you dissect it into five sections if you want.
"Having that driver-engineer collab, it's hit and miss sometimes. With me and Bono, it hit off from the beginning mostly. He had a good working relationship with Michael [Schumacher].
"I do feel like Carlo is like my Italian Bono. I told Bono that the other day! He's a bit of an OG. He's an older guy that's been around the block. He's very calm. You can hear him on the radio.
"This is a detail that we were able to go into together. Our understanding of the engineering side, I think it's something that's worth remembering."
Santi's appointment was thought to be made on an interim basis, although Your Site News understands there are no plans to make any changes in the role.
Ferrari's prospects of winning F1's showpiece Monaco race around the famous twisty street track this weekend have been talked up by rival teams ahead of the event, with both Mercedes' Antonelli and McLaren's Lando Norris, last year's race winner, suggesting the Scuderia will prove the team to beat.
Hamilton is a three-time winner in the Principality, while team-mate Charles Leclerc won his home race in 2024 and finished second to Norris last year. Ferrari's 2026 car has hitherto proved to be strong in slow-speed corners, of which the Monaco circuit is predominantly made up of.
Hamilton says he is "not listening to any of the hype" around the team's chances, although does agree that Monaco should be favourable for their car.
"I would say that this is probably the track that is better for us than some of the others," he said.
"The long straights we had in Montreal, for example, we lost quite a lot of time. Obviously here you would lose a lot less and I don't think power's going to be necessarily so much of an issue.
"Our car is good in low speed, so I think we'll be competitive, I don't necessarily think we'll be the quickest especially with the Mercedes upgrade in the last track they were quite quick in low speed.
"But I think we'll be competitive."
Friday June 5
10am: F3 Qualifying
12pm: Monaco GP Practice One (session starts at 12.30pm)
2.05pm: F2 Qualifying
3pm: Team Bosses' Press Conference
3.30pm: Monaco GP Practice Two (session starts at 4pm)
5.15pm: The F1 Show
Saturday June 6
9.40am: F3 Sprint
11.15am: Monaco GP Practice Three (session starts at 11.30am)
1.10pm: F2 Sprint
2.15pm: Monaco GP Qualifying build-up
3pm: MONACO GP QUALIFYING*
Sunday June 7
6.50am: F3 Feature Race
8.30am: F2 Feature Race
10.50am: Porsche Supercup
12.30pm: Monaco GP build-up: Grand Prix Sunday*
2pm: THE MONACO GRAND PRIX*
4pm: Monaco GP reaction: Chequered Flag*
*Also on Your Site Main Event
Watch the Monaco Grand Prix, the first of six races in eight weeks, live on Your Site F1 this weekend.
