Lewis Hamilton Says Ferrari’s Second Half Will Be Stronger as Straight-Line Speed Deficit Narrows

• Lewis Hamilton says Ferrari’s second half of the 2026 season will be stronger as the team works to close a straight-line speed deficit to Mercedes
• Hamilton is second in the championship, 50 points behind Kimi Antonelli, with one win so far this season at the Spanish Grand Prix
• Team principal Fred Vasseur says Ferrari will keep bringing small upgrades every race, with a further engine upgrade still available under F1’s development rules

Lewis Hamilton says he is confident Ferrari can find more pace in the second half of the 2026 season by closing the straight-line speed gap that has left the team trailing championship-leading Mercedes for most of the year.

Hamilton goes into Formula 1’s summer break second in the drivers’ championship, 50 points behind runaway leader Kimi Antonelli, having taken his lone win of the season at the Spanish Grand Prix in June while teammate Charles Leclerc won at the British Grand Prix. Ferrari has run with a clear straight-line speed deficit to Mercedes, who have won eight of the first 11 races this year.

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Three or Four Tenths Down on the Straights

Hamilton said the gap in a straight line has cost Ferrari results it should have had in the opening half of the season. “With the first half (of the season), it has been amazing given I think we’ve been probably like three or four tenths down on the straights in pace and power for the first half of the season,” he said.

He said the team is working to close that gap race by race. “I know the guys (at the factory) are pushing hard to bring upgrades for that,” Hamilton said. “We’ve been bringing upgrades weekend in, weekend out. We’ve got a bit more to come in the second half, and we just keep on pushing.”

Hamilton Banking on a Stronger Second Half

Hamilton pointed to his own record of finishing seasons well as a reason for confidence. “I think the second half will be stronger. Usually the second half is a stronger period for me,” he said. “So, as I said, I’ll really take this time to re-set and try and come back stronger, fitter and better mentally prepared.”

Ferrari Still Has an Engine Upgrade in Reserve

Ferrari brought an engine upgrade to the Austrian Grand Prix under Formula 1’s Additional Development Upgrade Opportunity system, and can still introduce a second before the end of the year. Mercedes also has an unused upgrade available under the same rule, though Hamilton hinted that Ferrari’s next engine step could be the key to unlocking more regular wins.

Team principal Fred Vasseur said the team knows where its work lies. “We know that we have to improve on the engine side, and we will do it, even if the inertia on the engine is much higher than on the chassis,” he said.

Vasseur Explains Ferrari’s Upgrade Approach

Vasseur contrasted Ferrari’s way of developing the car with rivals such as McLaren. “McLaren did a huge step forward (in Hungary), but they don’t have exactly the same philosophy, because they are bringing a big package,” he said. “I think the last one was in Miami, Canada. For sure, each time that they are bringing something, they are making a huge step. But we have a different approach, trying to bring parts every race.”

He said keeping up that pace of small updates counts for more with so much of the season still to run. “We have to keep this momentum, because there are still 12 races to go,” Vasseur said. “I don’t know if it’s exactly 11, 12 or 10, but it’s a lot. And we have room for improvement on the chassis everywhere, and we have to keep this pace.”

Hamilton 31 Points Clear of Leclerc

Hamilton heads into the break 31 points ahead of Leclerc in the drivers’ championship, with the Ferrari pair sitting second and fourth respectively behind Antonelli and Hamilton’s own gap of 50 points to the championship leader.

Sky Sports rated Hamilton’s first half of the season an 8 out of 10 in its own end-of-term driver ratings, pointing to the same straight-line speed problem he described. “Hamilton will be frustrated with his below-par execution in the races prior to the summer break as he should be much closer to Antonelli in the title race,” the broadcaster wrote. “Nevertheless, the seven-time world champion has impressively overturned his big pace deficit to team-mate Charles Leclerc from last year into a small, consistent advantage. Cut out the errors and don’t rule out a serious challenge for a record-breaking eighth world title.”

Leclerc’s Own Season Alongside Him

Leclerc, who took Ferrari’s other win of the season at the British Grand Prix, was rated half a point higher than Hamilton by Sky Sports, at 7.5 out of 10, after a year that has not reached the heights of his previous seasons. “Leclerc has not hit the heights of previous years this season after a brake issue caused a dip in performance from Miami to Monaco but even after that, it has been very close between the Ferrari duo in the run-up to the summer break,” the broadcaster wrote. “Although he was fortunate to win at Silverstone, Leclerc drove tremendously to take advantage of Antonelli’s misfortune and was there again in Belgium to make the Mercedes driver work for victory.”

Ferrari’s task over the coming weeks will be to turn both drivers’ pace concerns into a genuine championship threat before the gap to Antonelli grows any further. Formula 1 resumes after the summer break with a Sprint weekend at the Dutch Grand Prix from August 21-23.

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Written by

Jack Renn

Jack Renn is an editor at F1 Chronicle and a veteran motorsport journalist with 25 years of experience covering Formula 1 and international motorsport. A member of the Association Internationale de la Presse Sportive (AIPS), the global body representing accredited sports journalists, Jack has spent his career reporting from paddocks and press rooms across the F1 calendar. His work spans race analysis, technical insight, and in-depth features, giving readers authoritative coverage grounded in decades of firsthand experience at the highest level of the sport.

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