'Looking like the Hamilton of old' and potential rule changes - F1 Q&A
After Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix, the F1 movie won an Oscar for best sound at the 98th Academy Awards. Lewis Hamilton was a producer on the film and was given a shout-out during the acceptance speech Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli converted pole position to win his first Formula 1 race at the Chinese Grand Prix. His team-mate George Russell finished second while Lewis Hamilton got his first podium finish with Ferrari.
McLaren duo Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri did not start the race after issues with their power units. BBC F1 correspondent Andrew Benson answers your questions after the second race of the season. Lewis Hamilton appears to be noticeably quicker this season than last.
Is there something in the structure or balance of this year's car that suits his driving style better than last year's, or is the improvement coming from somewhere else? - Arjun Lewis Hamilton definitely looks in better shape after two races this season than he did for most of 2025. Last year was something of an annus horribilis for 41-year-old Hamilton, who was comprehensively outperformed by team-mate Charles Leclerc in his debut season at Ferrari, and seemed at times in a very dark place as he contemplated his performances in public.
This year, the seven-time champion gives the impression of being rejuvenated, and after the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday he said: "I definitely feel like I'm back to my best, both mentally and physically, yes. I still think there's room to improve. "Training this winter has been the heaviest and the most intense that I've ever had, and that probably comes hand in hand with being older.
It takes longer to recover. "I just decided on Christmas Day how I was going to start this season. I decided what I was going to do mentally and I'm going to continue to tweak that.