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Ferrari have been closing the gap to Mercedes in the 2026 title fight, but Stefano Domenicali thinks they need to rely on their rivals’ reliability issues to win.
Mercedes have been the dominant force in 2026, but Ferrari have been edging closer with two wins thus far. Lewis Hamilton clinched his first win for the team in Barcelona, while Charles Leclerc claimed his first win since 2024 at the British Grand Prix.
Thanks to Kimi Antonelli’s rotten luck at Silverstone, Hamilton is now 32 points behind the Italian in third, while Leclerc is 39 points further back. Ferrari are 78 points behind Mercedes in the constructors’ championship, leaving it all wide open.
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Stefano Domenicali says Ferrari need Mercedes’ reliability problems to persist to win 2026 title
While Ferrari have been making improvements, the consensus is that they do not have enough to catch Mercedes. Their engine upgrades failed to improve performance in Austria before exceeding their own expectations at Silverstone.
Hamilton says Ferrari had no explanation for their pace at the British GP, as the team had expected them to be further behind. But the team collected valuable points at Silverstone at the expense of Mercedes, who suffered more reliability issues.
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Kimi Antonelli’s left front wheel shield failure took him out of the points after he got hit with a time penalty for track limit infringements. Reliability has plagued the Silver Arrows this season, with multiple mechanical failures costing them points and potential race wins.
For Domenicali, this is what Ferrari need if they want to win the title in 2026. The F1 CEO is happy to see his former team make strides forward, but he believes that more reliability trouble for Mercedes is what is required for a championship challenge.
He told Sky Sports F1: “Well, definitely the balance now, it seems that Lewis has found, first of all, his place. Charles, of course, I think that he feels that there’s a sort of extra pressure for him to deliver what he’s able to do.
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“But it’s good to see Ferrari fighting because, I always said since the beginning, the championship is very, very long.
“Of course, the gap today between Mercedes and Ferrari is around 100 points, but it takes just one or two races with [a] DNF and something like that and everything is possible.
“The reliability is still a factor for the championship to fight up to the end. So it’s great to see my old team that is there with the right motivation and energy.”
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