Racing
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Lewis Hamilton heads into Formula 1’s summer break 50 points behind championship leader Kimi Antonelli, but the Ferrari driver believes a steady flow of upgrades and his own record of stronger late-season form can make the second half of 2026 more competitive.
Hamilton goes into the break second in the standings despite winning only once so far this year, and his consistency has kept him firmly in the fight. He has finished inside the top six at every round in his second season with Ferrari, a return that leaves him with ground to recover but also a clear platform to build from if Ferrari can keep finding performance.
That is the basis of Hamilton’s optimism. Speaking to media including RacingNews365, the seven-time world champion said Ferrari’s first half had been stronger than it might appear from the raw results because the team had been carrying a straight-line deficit for much of the season.
“The first half, it has been amazing given we’ve been probably like three or four tenths down on the straights in pace and power for the first half of the season,” Hamilton said.
That shortfall is central to Ferrari’s picture at the break. Hamilton said the team has been trying to chip away at it with a relentless development push, bringing new parts almost every weekend. Those updates, he said, have helped Ferrari close the gap to Mercedes during the opening phase of the campaign, even if the championship lead remains with Antonelli.
“I know the guys are pushing hard to bring upgrades for that,” he said. “We’ve been bringing upgrades weekend in, weekend out. We’ve got hopefully more to come in the second half, and we just keep on pushing.”
The timing matters for Hamilton because the break follows a difficult Hungarian Grand Prix, where penalties, strategy issues and other setbacks limited what he could achieve. He still came away with 10 points, but the weekend reinforced the need to clean up the kind of mistakes that have hurt him in recent races if he is to turn consistent scoring into a more serious title attack.
Hamilton’s expectation is that both the car and his own form can improve after the shutdown. He said the latter part of the year has often suited him better, and he plans to use the pause to reset physically and mentally before the season resumes.
“I think the second half will be stronger. Usually the second half is a stronger period for me,” Hamilton said. “So, as I said, I’ll really take this time to reset and try and come back stronger, fitter and better mentally prepared.”
For Ferrari, that leaves the second half hinging on whether its update path can continue to reduce the performance gap Hamilton has felt on the straights. For Hamilton, it means the title chase remains alive, but only if that development trend turns his consistency into the kind of pace needed to cut into Antonelli’s 50-point advantage.