Lewis Hamilton urges Ferrari to shift focus and prioritise 2026 F1 season as the Italian team faces a daunting gap to McLaren after the 2025 Austrian Grand Prix. Despite showing flashes of improvement at the Red Bull Ring, Ferrari’s current package appears no match for the runaway leaders, and Hamilton believes chasing this year’s titles is a lost cause.
The Ferrari pair of Charles Leclerc and Hamilton finished third and fourth respectively in Spielberg, but were still left in the dust by Lando Norris’ dominant drive for McLaren. After the race, Hamilton made his thoughts clear: the only logical path forward is to double down on developing next year’s car for F1’s radical new era.
“We should be fully focused in terms of development onto next year’s car,” Hamilton said, drawing a direct comparison to his old team. “I know Mercedes have already focused on next year. The key is going to be developing that engine.
“Making sure whoever comes up with the right philosophy suspension wise and everything. I am trying to work with the engineers to make sure we rectify some of the issues with this car because there’s a few problems that need fixing next year.”
Are Ferrari and Hamilton ready for F1 2026?
The sense of urgency from Hamilton is not without reason. The 2026 Formula 1 season will bring the most sweeping regulation changes in decades. New chassis and power unit rules are set to shake up the competitive order, with hybrid powertrains running on fully sustainable fuels, reduced downforce, and smaller, lighter cars. Christian Horner has already described the shift as “the biggest in the sport’s history.”
With Ferrari trailing McLaren by over 200 points in the constructors’ standings, Hamilton’s message was blunt: fighting for second place is not enough. Instead, he wants to see the team’s resources and technical brainpower channelled toward getting a head start on the next big rules reset—a strategy that helped Mercedes dominate the turbo-hybrid era in 2014.
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Hamilton also revealed the personal challenge he’s facing as he adapts to the unique driving style demanded by the Ferrari SF-25.
“Just struggling with the balance,” Hamilton said. “He [Leclerc] drives a massively oversteery car. He slides the rears and doesn’t have degradation.
“When I slide the rears I get massive degradation. Supposedly it took Carlos a couple of years to get used to. I don’t want to do that. I think I’ve improved as I said. I was a lot closer in quali. I didn’t have the race pace.”
For Hamilton, the path is clear. With both F1 championships out of reach for 2025, Ferrari’s only sensible move is to pivot early and throw everything at 2026—just as Mercedes are reportedly doing behind the scenes. He believes the next champion will be the team who gets on top of the new rules fastest.
