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Lewis Hamilton called Ferrari’s F1 car ‘so basic’ compared to Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes after finishing second at the Monaco Grand Prix.
Hamilton had crossed the line just over six seconds behind Antonelli, but that gap flattered him. Without the disruption of a safety car and a red flag, he was on course to finish well over half a minute behind.
This looked like a sobering result for Ferrari, who had been declared the favourites before the race given that the unique Monaco layout played to their strengths and minimised their weaknesses. But the team knew they had a major upgrade package on the way.
Lewis Hamilton is now only missing a Grand Prix pole position for Ferrari 🏆 Predict when it will come?
Ferrari’s overhauled SF-26 gave Lewis Hamilton exactly what he wanted
As Gary Anderson noted in a column for The Race, Ferrari’s car design did look fairly simplistic before Barcelona. But he suspects this was a deliberate choice: it made sense to play it safe until they had learned more about the 2026 regulations.
By introducing the ‘Macarena’ rear wing, a concept some teams hadn’t even thought of, they showed that it was ultimately their intention to ‘push the limits in every area’.
And five days after Monaco, Ferrari debuted a completely overhauled SF-26. Anderson says ‘nothing was left untouched’, and unlike the Miami package, ‘it all seemed to work’ instantly.
Give us your podium prediction for the Austrian Grand Prix this weekend 👇
Hamilton delivered Ferrari’s first front-row start of the year as he split the Mercedes in qualifying, only 0.064 seconds behind George Russell. While a fortunate VSC helped him win the race, his formidable pace suggests he would have done so anyway.
The seven-time world champion wanted to see innovation from his team, and they emphatically delivered. Now, Lando Norris says Ferrari would ’embarrass’ the competition if they had a better engine.
Lewis Hamilton was ‘sure’ Ferrari would win races
In what immediately proved to be a prophetic interview after Barcelona qualifying, Hamilton expressed total confidence that Ferrari would win this year, something they failed to do in 2025.
“This car will definitely win races, I’m sure of it,” he said, via Gazzetta dello Sport. “Given the development path we’re taking, the direction we’re taking, the synergy we have, and how hard we’re working, I’m sure we can fight for a win at some point.”
Hamilton was the first Ferrari driver to win since Carlos Sainz at the 2024 Mexico City GP, the team’s longest drought since 2020-21. The question now is whether this was Ferrari’s ceiling, or their new floor.
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