Lewis Hamilton has defended Ferrari’s progress during the 2026 Formula 1 season, arguing that second place in the Constructors’ Championship represents a major achievement despite the team’s recent difficulties and significant power deficit.
The comments came in Malaysia after several days of renewed scrutiny around the Maranello team. Ferrari has gone five Grands Prix without a podium, while speculation has also surrounded the position of team principal Fred Vasseur. While Charles Leclerc offered a particularly strong defence of Fred Vasseur, Lewis Hamilton placed greater emphasis on the progress made by Ferrari as a whole compared with 2025.
Lewis Hamilton points to Ferrari’s Constructors’ Championship progress
“We are second in the Constructors’ Championship, a huge step forward compared to last year, and that is despite a power deficit that averages around four tenths at every Grand Prix,” Lewis Hamilton explained, highlighting what he sees as an important measure of Ferrari’s progress.
The seven-time world champion has been making a similar point for several races, effectively treating second place in the teams’ standings as an extremely significant result given the limitations Ferrari has faced.
“Sometimes the gap reaches six tenths, yet we have delivered some really strong performances. That demonstrates the excellent work done by the people at the factory,” the British driver added.
The assessment is consistent with Lewis Hamilton’s broader comments at Sepang, where he also backed Fred Vasseur while discussing Ferrari’s structure and power deficit.
Hamilton believes negativity is overshadowing Ferrari’s progress
Lewis Hamilton also argued that the constant negativity surrounding Ferrari risks diminishing the significance of the improvements already made.
“I think all this negativity ends up diminishing those results,” he continued. “Of course, we are not yet where we would like to be, but you do not go directly from last year’s experience to first place. It is a gradual process: this year we have laid solid foundations that we need to keep building on. We are not perfect yet, but I really believe we can get there.”
For Ferrari supporters, however, there is an unavoidable familiarity to that message. With a touch of irony, the argument could be reduced to the traditional “we’ll win next year” refrain that has become symbolic of the long wait endured by fans of the Scuderia over almost two decades.
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