Lewis Hamilton says it is far too early to talk about mounting a full championship challenge after claiming his first victory for Ferrari.
The seven-time world champion has not been in a genuine title fight since the controversial 2021 season when he narrowly missed out on a record-breaking eighth championship. This season, however, Hamilton has made his strongest start in years and currently sits second in the drivers’ standings, 41 points adrift of the leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who moved to Mercedes last year.
Despite the strong start and the milestone win for Ferrari, Hamilton is deliberately keeping a measured outlook on the title race. “With the way the year started, I haven’t really been thinking about the championship like that,” he explained. “I haven’t been thinking about an eighth title. Our immediate focus has been on preparing the car and the team to give ourselves the best chance race-by-race.”
Hamilton acknowledged that Ferrari has made progress, but he also stressed the challenges that remain. “We’ve worked hard to get the car into a position where it can win races, and that work has paid off. At the same time, we’ve seen Mercedes produce an exceptionally quick package this year, and both of their drivers have done a brilliant job. We know there is a power deficit on our side, and at some circuits with long straights that can make life very difficult.”
In the Spanish Grand Prix, Ferrari’s upgraded SF-26 showed improved pace, which helped Hamilton convert opportunity into victory—assisted by a well-timed Virtual Safety Car. Yet Hamilton was candid about the need to squeeze more performance from the car to consistently compete with Mercedes.
“At the core we have a strong car,” he said. “If we keep finding performance, particularly through improving corner speed, we may be able to close that gap a bit. But closing the power deficit is a big challenge and it’s difficult to think long-term about the championship when there are so many variables still to come.”
Beyond the engineering and the machinery, Hamilton highlighted the positive change in his working relationship with his new race engineer. Carlos Santi replaced Ricardo Adami at the start of the season, and Hamilton said the pair connected quickly. Santi joined Hamilton on the podium in Catalunya after the victory, marking a warm start to their collaboration.
“We’d never really spoken before working together, but from the moment we met we got on immediately,” Hamilton said. “It’s been refreshing to form that connection after working with the same engineer for a long period. Peter Bonnington, who I’d worked with for years, is now at Mercedes, so this is a new dynamic for me.”
Hamilton described Santi as a quiet person who doesn’t always show his emotions openly, but who clearly cares deeply about his role. “He’s very understated, just smiling, but I can tell he’s passionate about engineering and helping the driver. I enjoy sharing moments like that with him on the podium. I like to think our partnership has helped reignite his enthusiasm and my own as a driver.”
For now, Hamilton and Ferrari will continue to focus on incremental improvements—working on corner speed, race strategy, and extracting every bit of performance from the SF-26. Hamilton emphasized that while victories are satisfying, the bigger objective remains consistent progress across the season.
“We will keep pushing, keep developing, and try to make the car faster in every area,” he said. “The championship is a long road and we need to be realistic about where we stand. One win is important, but the season will be decided by many small gains and how well we perform when it matters.”
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