The mathematics, for now, does not appear to favour Ferrari. Two victories from the opening 11 races of the 2026 Formula 1 season are hardly the record of a dominant team and, above all, would not normally be enough to describe the SF-26 as a car capable of fighting for the championship all the way to the end. Yet inside Maranello, a different belief is beginning to take shape.
Lewis Hamilton is among those who believe most strongly in Ferrari’s potential. The seven-time Formula 1 world champion has rediscovered a completely different technical and mental condition in 2026 compared with the previous season. Lewis Hamilton is competitive again, has already secured a victory and, crucially, appears to have recovered the confidence required to pursue an eighth world championship. His position in the 2026 Formula 1 title fight means Ferrari’s next development steps could prove particularly important.
It is a target Lewis Hamilton never truly abandoned after the controversial conclusion to the 2021 season denied him the opportunity to finish that campaign as world champion. Today, however, the British driver does not want to focus solely on what happened in the past. He is looking forward, and he sees enough progress within Ferrari to justify continuing to believe.
Lewis Hamilton expects a ‘very different’ second half for Ferrari
Comments reported by Auto Hebdo portray a Ferrari team that, in Lewis Hamilton’s view, has achieved important results despite still carrying some obvious limitations. In particular, the British driver highlighted the deficit Ferrari has faced on the straights, something that makes the SF-26’s achievements during the opening half of the championship even more significant.
“The way the season has been managed has been incredible so far, especially when you consider that we have probably had a three- or four-tenth deficit in terms of top speed and power on the straights,” Lewis Hamilton said, according to Auto Hebdo. “We haven’t brought upgrades for two and a half weekends, but more will be coming soon. So I think the second half of the season will be very different.”
That phrase, “very different”, captures the essence of Lewis Hamilton’s confidence. Ferrari is preparing to enter the second part of the championship with further development potential still available. Planned power unit interventions through the ADUO tables, together with chassis updates that could arrive as early as Zandvoort, give Maranello an opportunity to address some of the weaknesses that emerged during the opening rounds.
The aerodynamic side of that programme is already taking shape. Ferrari has prepared a new SF-26 floor and rear-wing package for Zandvoort, while further work is expected to follow as the development race intensifies during the second half of the year.
Ferrari must improve more than just the SF-26 power unit
This is not simply about finding a few more horsepower. The challenge concerns the entire package. Ferrari needs to improve efficiency, continue refining the behaviour of the SF-26 and maintain a development rate that prevents it from losing ground to McLaren and the other leading teams.
The power unit is nevertheless an important part of that programme. Ferrari is working towards further improvements, with a planned performance step for Monza forming part of the wider effort to strengthen the SF-26 after the summer break.
Frédéric Vasseur has stressed the same principle, identifying the engine as only one part of the work that remains to be completed.
“We know where we need to make progress from an engine point of view and we will do it, but chassis development is just as much of a priority,” Frédéric Vasseur explained. “The important thing will be to maintain the development pace. McLaren, for example, has made a big step forward, but they have a completely different philosophy from ours.”
“They prefer to wait before introducing a new development,” added the Draveil-born Ferrari team principal. “Our approach is different, in the sense that we try to introduce new parts at every race. We have to maintain that momentum for the remaining races because we have room for progress in every area.”
That philosophy has become one of the defining elements of Ferrari’s evolving SF-26 development approach. Instead of relying exclusively on isolated major packages, Maranello has attempted to maintain a more continuous flow of new components throughout the season.
Ferrari must keep improving – and so must Lewis Hamilton
The picture, therefore, is of a team that cannot afford to stand still. The SF-26 has already shown that it can win races, but turning two victories into a genuine championship challenge will require more. Ferrari needs consistent progress from one Grand Prix to the next, without allowing its rivals to build a technical advantage that becomes increasingly difficult to recover.
Lewis Hamilton himself is also part of that equation. The British driver is very different from the one seen in 2025. After a season marked by difficulties, frustration and a challenging psychological period, the arrival of the new technical generation and Ferrari’s improvement have restored his competitiveness and enthusiasm. The 2026 version of Lewis Hamilton once again appears convinced that he can fight at the front.
His renewed confidence is also reflected in his broader assessment of Ferrari. Lewis Hamilton has spoken positively about the way the team has changed its engineering methods and technical direction, arguing that Maranello is now increasingly capable of creating ideas rather than simply reacting to its rivals.
But confidence cannot become complacency. If Ferrari still has areas to address technically, Lewis Hamilton also has work to do when it comes to execution.
In recent races, the seven-time world champion has not always been flawless in the way he has managed race weekends and Grands Prix, with several penalties ultimately complicating his final results. Those details can become decisive when a world championship is being fought point by point. The speed is there and the belief has returned, but greater precision is required when the pressure increases.
That makes race-weekend execution almost as important as development itself. Ferrari will face an immediate test after the summer break at Zandvoort, where the 2026 Dutch Grand Prix Sprint format leaves the team with very limited practice time to understand its latest components and establish the correct set-up.
Ferrari’s SF-26 development could still change the 2026 hierarchy
This is the combination Ferrari must build its second half of the season around: an SF-26 that continues to evolve and a Lewis Hamilton capable of converting his renewed enthusiasm into consistent performance.
Because despite everything, there is still potential to exploit. The SF-26 has won two races and Lewis Hamilton has claimed one of those victories, but the results from the first half of the championship do not necessarily reveal everything Maranello may still be capable of achieving.
If the power unit interventions and the aerodynamic and mechanical updates deliver the expected step, the competitive hierarchy could change again. Ferrari’s SF-26 aerodynamic efficiency will be one of the key areas to watch as the Scuderia tries to combine greater outright performance with a more complete and predictable package.
Lewis Hamilton intends to be ready if that opportunity arrives. After going through his lowest point of 2025, the seven-time world champion is once again speaking with the conviction of a driver who believes the championship is not necessarily a closed chapter. The path towards an eighth world title remains long and difficult, but Ferrari does not appear willing to surrender before exhausting every possibility.
The wider mood at Maranello is also increasingly optimistic about how much the SF-26 can still develop. Charles Leclerc has similarly expressed confidence in Ferrari’s development plan ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix, underlining the importance of the coming races for both sides of the garage.
If the championship ultimately comes, it will represent an extraordinary achievement. If it does not, Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari do not want to be left regretting that they failed to push their opportunity as far as possible.
Achieving that will require exactly the two ingredients that currently coexist within Ferrari’s project: a team capable of continuing to improve and a champion who once again genuinely believes he can write the final chapter of his Formula 1 story.
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