Lewis Hamilton has admitted that his hopes of fighting for the 2026 Formula 1 World Championship are now effectively over after Ferrari left Monza with only his sixth-place finish from a deeply disappointing Italian Grand Prix. The seven-time world champion avoided controversy over his opening-lap battle with Charles Leclerc, instead focusing on the points lost by the team, Ferrari’s straight-line deficit to Mercedes-powered cars and a tyre choice he believes may also have compromised his race.
The result leaves Lewis Hamilton 76 points behind championship leader Kimi Antonelli, and the Ferrari driver now believes his rivals are out of reach. It was another frustrating outcome at a circuit where the SF-26 Power Unit and overall efficiency faced one of their toughest tests of the season.
Lewis Hamilton says Mercedes-powered cars were simply faster at Monza
Throughout the race, Lewis Hamilton found himself battling cars that were quicker on the straights, repeatedly exchanging positions in particular with Oscar Piastri’s McLaren. The issue underlined one of Ferrari’s most important limitations at Monza, where outright straight-line performance played a major role in both attacking and defending.
In the closing stages, Ferrari fitted Lewis Hamilton with medium tyres for the restart following Charles Leclerc’s accident. The decision proved costly, with the British driver eventually unable to resist Lando Norris as his hopes of a stronger finish faded.
“Obviously I’m devastated by the result… It’s tough, difficult to digest. We worked hard at the factory to try to make improvements and close the gap, but today we just had nothing on track. So it’s a sixth place that is really, really difficult to digest.”
Lewis Hamilton said Ferrari would now analyse the race to understand whether anything could have been done differently, while acknowledging that the fundamental performance deficit remained the bigger issue.
“A result that we’ll analyse to understand how we could have done better, but we’re simply not at the level of those ahead of us. We lost a lot of points and in the end we couldn’t keep up with the Mercedes-powered cars. We probably chose the wrong tyres. Would it have made much difference? Maybe we could have stayed behind them a little longer, but they kept overtaking us. They were simply faster today.”
Lewis Hamilton focuses on Ferrari after Charles Leclerc Monza incident
The opening-lap episode between the two Ferrari drivers also generated considerable discussion. Charles Leclerc’s defence against Lewis Hamilton through the first chicane cost the British driver several positions, immediately making his race more difficult.
Charles Leclerc later explained that, from his perspective, both Ferrari drivers had gone too far in the fight. Lewis Hamilton, however, avoided turning the incident into a public dispute and instead focused on what it had meant for the Maranello team’s overall result. More coverage of both drivers throughout the season can be found in ScuderiaFans’ dedicated Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc sections.
“I thought about the team,” Lewis Hamilton said when asked what had gone through his mind at that moment. “I thought about the team. Obviously we were both in a good position, and if we’d just maintained those positions we would have been in a much better position. We lost so much ground… to score so few points for the team is really sad.”
Lewis Hamilton concedes 2026 F1 title hopes after Monza
The points lost at the Italian Grand Prix have also had a major impact on Lewis Hamilton’s championship prospects. After Monza, the Ferrari driver sits 76 points behind Kimi Antonelli, leaving him convinced that a realistic title challenge is no longer possible.
“It’s too late now,” Lewis Hamilton admitted. “It’s too late for that. I lost a lot of points today and now they are a long way ahead. We’ll do our best to keep pushing for the rest of the season, but they’re out of reach now.”
The championship picture can continue to change over the remaining rounds, but Lewis Hamilton’s assessment after Monza was unequivocal. Rather than focusing on the title, Ferrari must now extract as much performance as possible over the rest of the campaign after a home Grand Prix that exposed both the SF-26’s straight-line limitations and the cost of losing valuable ground in direct battles.
