Lewis Hamilton on the Ferrari dilemma: “I’ve never asked for that”

Realistically speaking, the World Championship train has left the station for Ferrari: with his home victory at Monza, the Italian Kimi Antonelli has extended his lead; the 20-year-old from Bologna now has 267 points and is highly likely to become the youngest Formula 1 champion in 2026. The current record is held by Sebastian Vettel, who became champion in 2010 at the age of 23 years, 4 months and 11 days.

Kimi is therefore on 267 points, followed by the second Mercedes driver, George Russell, on 201 points. The closest challenger to the Mercedes drivers is Ferrari superstar Lewis Hamilton on 191 points.

Many Tifosi are calling for Ferrari to back Hamilton wholeheartedly in the title race in order to keep their mathematical chances of winning the title alive. But Lewis says: “I’m not asking the team to back me; I’ve never demanded that from a Formula 1 team. What I am, however, insisting on is that we make the most of our potential.”

Hand on heart: does Lewis Hamilton still see himself in the title race at all? The seven-time world champion says: “As long as there’s a mathematical chance – yes. Even though, of course, we can see just how strong Mercedes is.”

“The Ferrari has a really good chassis; we can see that on every circuit where engine power isn’t the main factor. We improved our power unit ahead of the Monza weekend, but we always knew that this wouldn’t be the answer to everything or that it would close the gap to Mercedes. I can see the whole Ferrari team working their fingers to the bone, and we’re making steady progress too, but Mercedes are just so darn strong. That’s what makes catching up so tricky.”

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A stuttering start to the Bahrain Grand Prix: the FIA narrowly avoids a fiasco like the one in Indianapolis in 2005

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“There’s almost nothing more we can do on the development front. So we have to focus on getting more out of the weekend. We’ve had plenty of good performances this year, but to be honest – there have also been qualifying sessions and Grands Prix where we’ve really put our foot in it.”

“We need to put ourselves in a position, through flawless execution over a weekend, where we can capitalise if Mercedes happens to make a mistake.”