The Briton, second in the championship 41 points behind Antonelli, trusts Ferrari's upgrades but warns of the challenge of beating Mercedes. He also highlighted the change in mentality in the team: "This year we have a north, last year we didn't."
Lewis Hamilton believes that the opportunity to fight for the 2026 championship "is there" but warned that Ferrari has "a real battle ahead" to overcome Mercedes, which remains the team to beat after a spectacular start to the season. The Briton, second in the championship 41 points behind Kimi Antonelli, arrives in Austria with high morale after his first victory with the Scuderia in Barcelona and with the confidence that the upgrades on the SF-26 are working.
"I think the opportunity is there, but one thing is to be there and another very different thing is to galvanize the troops and develop. You can hit plateaus in development, so all we can do is go day by day and keep bringing everything we have" declared Hamilton in the press day of the Austrian Grand Prix, the Briton highlighted the change in mentality at Ferrari compared to last year, when the team did not have a clear "north" to work towards.
"Everyone at the factory is working very hard, they see what is possible, and when you see what is possible, it's a north, you know that's the direction we need to take. I'm not sure if the team has had that for a while, but last year we didn't have a north, and this year we do. This year everyone is redoubling their efforts, putting in that extra effort even more than before" explained Hamilton.
The seven time champion confirmed that Ferrari will debut a new engine in Austria, although he warned that it is not the definitive solution: "It's a step, not all the difference, but it's a step. It's a foot forward, which I'm very proud and grateful for, however, Mercedes remains the team to beat, they have won everything else and have been incredible this year, a great car, an incredible team, a world champion team" he stated.
Hamilton called for calm and not to get carried away by enthusiasm: "I think you saw Fred's comments, because I guess everyone gets excited about this. It's about calming down, feet on the ground, keep doing our job, make sure we keep executing, there are no shortcuts to success. We all bring something to the team and I'm very proud of how hard everyone is working" he declared.
The Briton also referred to the change in narrative about his career: "It's been crazy to see the turn and how people change their minds about what they said before, I don't pay much attention to that. We don't come to this weekend thinking about the championship, we think about this weekend, about executing as best we can" concluded Hamilton, who trusts that the team can continue closing the gap to Mercedes.
