Lewis Hamilton remains optimistic about Ferrari’s chances in the 2026 United States Grand Prix despite qualifying fifth at the Circuit of The Americas, although the seven-time world champion has acknowledged a worrying development: rival teams are now matching Ferrari’s cornering performance while maintaining a significant advantage on the straights. The British driver hopes to recover positions at the start and potentially benefit from strategy over the race distance, even if the SF-26’s energy deployment limitations continue to affect its competitiveness.
Fifth place was not the ideal starting position, but Lewis Hamilton was nevertheless satisfied with his qualifying lap. Unlike Charles Leclerc, who expressed frustration after finishing fourth, the British driver believes he extracted a good performance from his car. His biggest concern is a straight-line speed deficit that Ferrari cannot immediately eliminate, particularly as the team’s previous cornering advantage has become increasingly difficult to exploit.
Lewis Hamilton explains Ferrari’s energy deployment weakness in Austin qualifying
After qualifying, Charles Leclerc made it clear that his fourth-place finish could not be attributed solely to Ferrari’s engine deficit. The Monegasque struggled to extract the final few tenths he expected from the SF-26 once he reached Q3, ultimately setting a faster lap in Q2 than in the decisive final session.
However, Ferrari’s difficulties on the straights remain impossible to ignore. As has already been evident on several occasions this season, the Italian team continues to suffer a substantial disadvantage, particularly in how its power unit manages electrical energy deployment.
When the SF-26 begins reducing the assistance provided by its electric motor, rival cars can continue receiving that additional power for longer. This creates a cascading effect: the electric motor not only allows competitors to reach higher speeds more quickly, but the resulting advantage tends to persist throughout the remainder of the straight.
It is in these sections that Ferrari loses the most time to its rivals. The deficit then affects the rest of the lap because recovering that time through the corners becomes increasingly difficult when the drivers are already pushing close to the limit. These characteristics had also emerged during Ferrari’s Austin FP1 performance analysis, which highlighted the contrast between the SF-26’s encouraging cornering performance and its straight-line difficulties.
Although Charles Leclerc was disappointed not to extract the full potential he believed was available, Lewis Hamilton took a more positive view of fifth place. The British driver understands that his main limitation was the speed deficit on the straights, a problem without an immediate solution and one that would be difficult to overcome before the end of the season, even with the Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities (ADUO), leaving Ferrari needing to wait until the winter for a more substantial solution.
“We know that throughout the weekend, looking for example at the section up to Turn 1, when we reach the point where the power is cut, Max and the others continue accelerating. It’s a similar situation at other parts of the circuit, such as on the approach to Turn 11,” Lewis Hamilton explained during his post-qualifying interviews, while also expressing satisfaction with his own lap.
“I think over the rest of the lap we can be more or less on the same level, perhaps a little closer. You can see that in the overlaid data as well. But I don’t know what happened: my car felt great. The lap was good, clean, so they were simply faster.”
Ferrari loses around two tenths to Andrea Kimi Antonelli on COTA’s back straight
On the long back straight alone, Lewis Hamilton lost approximately two tenths of a second compared with Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s pole-position lap. However, this was not the only section where Ferrari’s electrical deployment ended earlier than that of its competitors.
Similar difficulties emerged at the entry to the sweeping sequence of corners in the opening sector and before the braking zone for Turn 11. Each individual loss amounted to only a few hundredths of a second, but when accumulated across an entire lap, these small disadvantages produced a significant overall deficit.
The recorded straight-line speed differences can be explored further through the ScuderiaFans F1 Top Speed Comparison, which allows readers to compare speed-trap figures and other recorded speed references between drivers.
“I haven’t seen the exact numbers this weekend [for the gap to Max Verstappen on the straights]. I think this morning the gap was around three tenths. It’s impressive. If we had the same engine power as our rivals, we’d be up there fighting with them. I think we’d probably be on the front row. We know that’s the situation, so we’re trying to get the maximum out of what we have.”
The seven-time world champion therefore believes Ferrari’s qualifying difficulties are not primarily a consequence of an uncompetitive chassis. Instead, the team is losing valuable time because of its power unit performance, particularly the limitations affecting electrical deployment along the straights.
Lewis Hamilton warns that Mercedes and Red Bull have caught Ferrari in the corners
Perhaps the most concerning development for Ferrari is that its rivals have also made significant progress in areas where the SF-26 previously enjoyed an advantage. Lewis Hamilton believes the Italian car remains fundamentally competitive, but Mercedes and Red Bull have gradually reduced the difference in cornering performance.
“I think that’s the only area where we’re really losing ground. I think our car is very solid, at least on the same level as the others, if not slightly better. But I think our rivals have caught up on the chassis side. We’ve seen Red Bull make progress in terms of downforce, while Mercedes has introduced an upgrade package worth at least three tenths.”
“I think they’re starting to understand better and better how to get the most out of it. Now they can match our pace in the corners, while we haven’t been able, over the course of the season, to reduce the speed deficit we have on the straights.”
This represents an important shift in the competitive picture. Earlier in the season, Ferrari could often compensate for its straight-line limitations by recovering time through the corners. However, as its rivals continue improving their aerodynamic performance and extracting more from their chassis, the Scuderia has less room to make up those losses.
Ferrari’s own development programme has included significant aerodynamic changes, with the team introducing four key SF-26 aerodynamic revisions for the United States Grand Prix. Nevertheless, Lewis Hamilton’s assessment suggests that the improvements achieved by rival teams have made the battle increasingly competitive, especially when the Ferrari power unit deficit is taken into account.
Why Lewis Hamilton remains optimistic about Ferrari’s United States GP race pace
Despite the difficulties encountered in qualifying, Lewis Hamilton approaches the Grand Prix with cautious optimism. The straight-line speed problem is particularly pronounced during qualifying because teams use more aggressive power unit settings to maximise performance over a single lap. Over a full race distance, the difference generally becomes less significant.
Braking distances also tend to increase under race conditions, making it easier to recover electrical energy. This could help Ferrari partially contain the disadvantage that was so evident during qualifying, even if it does not completely eliminate the difference compared with Mercedes and Red Bull.
The British driver is nevertheless realistic about the challenge ahead. Starting fourth and fifth means Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton will inevitably have to deal with dirty air during the opening stint, a factor that could complicate tyre management and make it more difficult to exploit the SF-26’s full potential.
Ferrari will therefore be hoping that its car can be more competitive in race conditions, particularly when it comes to managing tyre temperatures and degradation over longer stints. This has frequently been one of the SF-26’s strongest qualities throughout the season and could become especially valuable at Austin, where tyre degradation and race strategy have already emerged as important considerations.
Lewis Hamilton also hopes Ferrari can recover positions at the start and potentially use strategy to its advantage later in the race, although the close competition means there are no guarantees.
“I still feel optimistic. Fourth and fifth aren’t the ideal positions, but we’re all very close.”
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