Lewis Hamilton insists that Ferrari’s campaign can still be hailed as a "major accomplishment" if the team manages to finish inside the top three of the Drivers' Championship, urging detractors to focus on the season's bright spots despite the recent setbacks. The prospect of Hamilton and Ferrari clinching this year’s world title has all but vanished after a string of disappointing races.
The seven‑time champion has not stood on the podium since the British Grand Prix in early July, and his hopes of a championship showdown have dwindled. Hamilton’s first retirement of the season came in Madrid, where he fell to third place before the race was halted. That result left him more than 100 points behind championship leader Kimi Antonelli for the first time this year, effectively conceding the title to the Italian prodigy.
Antonelli now enjoys an 81‑point cushion over his Mercedes teammate George Russell, making the gap to Hamilton appear even more insurmountable. When asked about his own title chances ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix – the 15th round of a 23‑race calendar – Hamilton replied, "Well, I mean, he's 101 points ahead of me. In just two races he picked up around 40‑plus points on me, and we’ve been grinding to claw back a few points here and there.
There’s still a long way to go, and my focus is on holding onto second place – or at least staying close to Mercedes – in the Constructors' standings. That would be remarkable." He added, "We have to think about where we were last season and where we are now. While the narrative often sounds doom‑and‑gloom, you really need to look at the positives." Ferrari endured a winless 2025 season and slipped to fourth in the Constructors' Championship. Hamilton’s first year in the red car has been his toughest, with no podium finishes for the first time in his storied career.
Yet the team broke the drought with a victory at the Spanish Grand Prix in June, and Charles Leclerc followed with a win at Silverstone two races later. "We’ve been fighting, we’ve secured wins and podiums, and the team has done an incredible job rolling out upgrades," Hamilton said. "You have to acknowledge the good things we’ve done this year.
I know many people focus on the negatives, but if I can battle with George and somehow get ahead of him – which is very difficult because Mercedes are the leaders – staying in the top three, even second, would be a huge achievement for the team." Currently, Hamilton trails Russell by 20 points in the drivers' standings. While Ferrari has shown flashes of speed in qualifying and early race phases, strategic blunders and operational missteps have often cost them valuable points.
"There are positives to take from the recent races, but the execution hasn’t been the best and the results reflect that," Hamilton noted. "We’ll learn from the areas where we fell short, make improvements, and I’m excited for this weekend." The Spanish Grand Prix also saw Russell fall further behind Antonelli, who has now secured his eighth career win in just his second full season, underscoring his rapid rise.
Russell, who entered the year as the pre‑season favourite, has been vocal about the challenges of adapting his natural driving style to the brand‑new 2026 cars. However, he believes his situation is improving.
Speaking in Baku, he said, "I’ve been making very good progress and feel confident I can fight for victories again. It’s important to keep that momentum through the rest of the season as we head into a relatively stable regulatory period for 2027." He continued, "Resolving the issues we’ve had is crucial. Since the summer break, I’m pleased with the progress – race pace, which was a weakness, is now much better and we’ve been in the mix every race since. I feel more comfortable fighting for strong results.
Let’s see how the points fall from now until the end of the season. Next year will be similar; the chassis and power units won’t change much, maybe the tyres will be slightly different.
So I’ll keep building on this." Although Russell has effectively ruled himself out of the championship hunt, he says his approach to each weekend remains unchanged: "I’ll keep fighting every race until it’s mathematically impossible. That doesn’t change how I do my job. I want to win every race and take pole every race.
That’s my goal each weekend, and the rest will follow. The deficit is huge, but it’s not the main focus right now – performance is." The upcoming Azerbaijan weekend is packed with action. On Thursday, September 24, the schedule includes F2 practice at 9 am, F2 qualifying at 10:55 am, a team bosses’ press conference at noon, and a second F2 practice session at 12:30 pm, followed by the F1 Show at 2:15 pm.
Friday, September 25, features an F2 sprint at 5:10 am, the third F2 practice at 9:15 am, the F2 Feature Race 1 at 11:10 am, and the Azerbaijan GP qualifying sessions later in the day. Saturday, September 26, hosts the second F2 feature race at 7:55 am, the Grand Prix start at 10:30 am, and the main event culminating with the chequered flag at 2 pm, followed by post‑race analysis. All sessions will also be streamed live on Sky Sports Main Event, with the option to watch via the Sky Sports app on Chrome for the best video experience.
Fans can subscribe to Sky Sports NOW for flexible, contract‑free streaming of the 2026 Formula 1 season, including the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, which kicks off a triple‑header of races this weekend. In summary, while the narrative surrounding Ferrari and Hamilton may be tinged with pessimism, both the driver and the team see ample reasons for optimism.
By concentrating on incremental improvements, learning from past mistakes, and capitalising on the upgrades already delivered, they aim to finish the season strong – perhaps not as champions, but certainly as a force that defied the early‑season gloom.