Lewis Hamilton is defending Ferrari’s faltering title bid by praising where the team was last year, when it won nothing at all. The seven-time champion asked critics to “look at the positives” of Ferrari’s season, even as his own championship hopes have faded.
Hamilton and Ferrari’s chances of winning this year’s world title have shrunk in recent races. The Briton has not finished on the podium since the British Grand Prix at the start of July. A first race retirement of the season last time out in Madrid saw third-placed Hamilton fall more than 100 points back on championship-leading Kimi Antonelli for the first time this season.
Antonelli’s overall lead at the top of the standings is 81 points over Mercedes team-mate George Russell.
Hamilton’s Positive Spin
Hamilton was asked about his own championship prospects heading into the weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the season’s 15th of a scheduled 23 rounds. He responded with a blunt assessment of the gap.
“Well, I mean, he’s 101 points ahead of me,” Hamilton said. “Just in two races he gained something like 40-odd points on me, and we’ve been working so hard to gain just a couple of points here and there.”
There is still a long way to go, he argued, and his focus is on holding on to second place in the Drivers’ Championship. He also wants to help Ferrari secure the constructors’ title, which would require beating Mercedes.
“There is still a long way to go and I think the focus for me is, if we can hold on to second – if not somehow catch Mercedes – for the constructors’, I think that would be remarkable,” he said.
He also urged fans to consider the bigger picture. “I think it’s also just having to think about where we were last year and where we’ve come to this year and whilst it sometimes seems doom and gloom, you actually have to look at the positives.”
Ferrari endured a winless 2025 campaign and slipped to fourth in the Constructors’ Championship. Hamilton himself experienced a difficult first campaign in red with no podiums for the first time in his career.
But he won for the first time at June’s Spanish Grand Prix, with Charles Leclerc triumphing two races later at Silverstone.
The Numbers Behind the Gap
The scale of Antonelli’s lead is the clearest measure of Ferrari’s decline. Here is where the numbers stand:
- Antonelli leads the Drivers’ Championship by 81 points over Russell
- Antonelli leads Hamilton by 101 points
- Russell trails Hamilton by 20 points in the standings
- Antonelli has won eight races so far this season
- Ferrari has not won a grand prix this year
Hamilton added: “We’ve been fighting, we’ve had wins and podiums, the team have done an incredible job in terms of bringing upgrades, so you really have to acknowledge the good things that we’ve done this year.”
“I know lots of people focus on the negatives. For me, again, if I can battle with George and somehow get ahead of him, which would be very difficult as Mercedes are the leaders… if at the end of the year, managing to stay in the top three, even second, I think would be a huge achievement for us as a team.”
Russell’s Response
George Russell, Hamilton’s former team-mate at Mercedes, has faced his own struggles adapting to the new 2026 cars. He spoke openly about his difficulties in meshing his natural driving style to the all-new machinery.
The Spanish Grand Prix a fortnight ago saw Russell fall a season-high margin behind Antonelli, who has won the last two grands prix to take his tally to eight overall in an extraordinary second campaign of F1 so far.
Russell remains the pre-season title favourite, but he has effectively ruled himself out of title contention. His approach to each race weekend will not change, he stressed.
“I’m going to keep fighting every single race until it’s mathematically impossible,” he said. “But it doesn’t change how I go about my job. I want to try and win every single race and put it on pole every single race. That’s my goal.”
“That’s what I’m working towards every single weekend, and what happens thereafter will be. And there’s obviously a huge deficit, but it’s not even really a consideration right now. It’s just the performance is the biggest priority.”
The Weekend Schedule
Fans in the UK can watch Thursday’s practice sessions for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix live on Sky Sports F1. The sessions start at 9.30am and 1pm.
The full Sky Sports F1 schedule for Thursday September 24 includes:
- 6.55am: F2 Practice
- 9am: Azerbaijan GP Practice One (session starts at 9.30am)
- 10.55am: F2 Qualifying
- 12pm: Team Bosses’ Press Conference
- 12.30pm: Azerbaijan GP Practice Two (session starts at 1pm)
All times are UK local time.
A Season Built on Wins
Hamilton’s argument rests on a simple comparison: Ferrari has won races this year, unlike last year. That is a fair point.
Ferrari’s wins came at the Spanish Grand Prix, where Hamilton took the checkered flag, and at Silverstone, where Leclerc won. Those victories are real.
The team finished fourth in the constructors’ championship last year. It won no races. It struggled throughout the season. The gap between then and now is not vast, and Hamilton knows it.
What the Team Needs to Show
Ferrari’s recent results have been compromised by operational and strategic issues within their own control. The car has been competitive in qualifying and early practice sessions, but the team has not executed races well enough to capitalise.
“I think there’s positives to take out of the last few races, it’s just they haven’t been, I would say, the best in terms of execution and we’ve not had the best results,” said Hamilton.
“But the positives we take forwards and we try and learn from the areas we weren’t as good. I believe we can make improvements and I think we have.”
The question for Ferrari is whether those improvements arrive quickly enough. The calendar is shortening, and the gap to Antonelli grows with every race.
Hamilton’s own goal is modest by his standards. Holding second place in the Drivers’ Championship and helping Ferrari secure the constructors’ title would be a “huge achievement” for a team that won nothing last year.
The Azerbaijan Test
The Azerbaijan Grand Prix is a chance for Ferrari to show what it can do on a street circuit. The track demands grip and handling.
Hamilton is excited for the weekend. He believes the team can improve. Whether that belief translates into results is another matter.
The session times are set, the drivers are ready, and the gap is fixed. Antonelli leads by 81 points. Hamilton trails by 101. Russell sits 20 points behind Hamilton.
The season is long, but the title is gone. The remaining question is whether Ferrari can finish where Hamilton says it belongs.
KEY FACTS BOX
- Antonelli leads the Drivers’ Championship by 81 points over Russell
- Antonelli leads Hamilton by 101 points
- Russell trails Hamilton by 20 points in the standings
- Antonelli has won eight races so far this season
- Ferrari has not won a grand prix this year
- Ferrari finished fourth in the constructors’ championship last year
- Hamilton’s first win this year came at the Spanish Grand Prix
- Leclerc won two races later at Silverstone
Source material: “Hamilton defends Ferrari amid ‘doom and gloom’ criticism,” Sky Sports.
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