Lewis Hamilton has told Ferrari it must continue to squeeze every ounce of performance from its package at each round if the team is to reel in a dominant Mercedes in this year’s title fight.
Ferrari produced a surprise 1-3 finish at the British Grand Prix, with Charles Leclerc ending a lengthy win drought on a weekend the Scuderia had not expected to be in contention for victory. Nine rounds into the season, the Italian team sits 78 points adrift of Mercedes in the constructors’ standings, with Hamilton its best-placed driver in third, 32 points behind championship leader Kimi Antonelli.
Mercedes’ advantage has narrowed slightly in recent weeks after reliability issues disrupted Antonelli’s campaign — an electrical failure ended his race in Barcelona, while a wheel shield problem cost him a likely win at Silverstone. Those setbacks allowed both Hamilton and George Russell to cut into a lead that had stood at 68 points after Monaco.
Asked whether he considered himself a genuine title contender ahead of the Silverstone weekend, Hamilton first responded with a touch of humour before turning serious about the scale of the task facing Ferrari.
“I think other than me going into Mercedes’ garage and undoing the bolts,” he joked, when asked by media, including Motorsport Week.
“Look, I mean, Mercedes is a phenomenal team. You’re seeing them perform at such an amazing level, and it’s really beautiful to see when a team’s fully in synergy.
“What they’ve brought and what they’ve done this year is mighty, and I think it’s going to take a huge amount for anyone to close them down.”
‘Stay calm and keep working’
Hamilton also pointed to Red Bull’s recent upgrade as a factor that could complicate Ferrari’s task further, with Max Verstappen potentially emerging as another obstacle in the fight for the championship.
“You’ve seen now that Red Bull has really taken a step. They made a massive step in [Austria], so undoubtedly, I imagine Max is going to be a big contender for it, and he’s got the power also to match the Mercedes.
“So, I anticipate they’re going to be really strong.”
Rather than pointing to any single fix, Hamilton framed Ferrari’s route back into title contention as one of consistency and marginal gains across the remainder of the season.
“I think we, as a team, have to just continue to believe, continue to just stay calm and keep working. We just have to extract everything we can from each weekend, and even, if possible, a little bit more than maybe what performance-wise is possible.”
With Mercedes’ pace largely undiminished on merit and Red Bull now also showing signs of a genuine step forward, Hamilton’s comments suggest Ferrari’s title hopes will rest less on a single technical leap and more on maximising what the car already has, weekend after weekend, as the season heads into its second half.
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