<\/p>\n
The seven-time world champion arrives at the Austrian Grand Prix in strong form after claiming his first victory for Ferrari in Barcelona, ending Mercedes\u2019 dominant start to the campaign.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Hamilton now sits second in the Drivers\u2019 Championship, 41 points behind leader Kimi Antonelli, while Ferrari trail Mercedes by 72 points in the Constructors\u2019 standings.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Hamilton said recent upgrades have improved Ferrari\u2019s competitiveness, with further developments, including a new engine, set to debut in Austria. \u201cI think the opportunity is there, but it\u2019s another thing, galvanising the troops and developing,\u201d Hamilton said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He stressed that while the team has momentum, consistency in development will be key, warning that performance gains can stall if progress is not sustained. \u201cIt\u2019s one foot forward, it\u2019s a step, not the whole gap,\u201d Hamilton said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Hamilton pointed to a stronger sense of direction within the team compared to his debut season, where Ferrari struggled for clarity. \u201cThis year we have a north star; everyone is doubling down,\u201d Hamilton said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He praised the effort from staff both trackside and at the factory, saying the team is now fully aligned on improving performance. Despite Ferrari\u2019s gains, Hamilton acknowledged that Mercedes remains the team to beat after a dominant start to the season. \u201cThey\u2019ve been just incredible this year, a great car, an amazing team,\u201d Hamilton said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He warned that closing the gap will require sustained effort across the remaining races, even if a title challenge remains possible. \u201cWe have a real battle on our hands, but I don\u2019t think it\u2019s impossible,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Hamilton downplayed talk of an eighth world title, insisting his focus remains on executing each race weekend effectively. \u201cWe\u2019re not thinking about the championship, we\u2019re thinking about this weekend,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He added that discipline and consistency will be critical, echoing calls from team leadership to remain grounded despite recent success. \u201cThere are no shortcuts to success; we\u2019ve just got to keep going,\u201d Hamilton said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–F1\/ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":38090,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[20],"class_list":["post-38089","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-sport","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"Lewis Hamilton believes Ferrari have an opportunity to challenge for the Formula One title in 2026, but has cautioned that the team still faces a major task to match Mercedes over the full season.","published_date":"","news_description":"Lewis Hamilton believes Ferrari have an opportunity to challenge for the Formula One title in 2026, but has cautioned that the team still faces a major task to match Mercedes over the full season.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/38089","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/38089\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38091,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/38089\/revisions\/38091"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38090"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38089"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=38089"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}