Has Hamilton angered Wolff? He exposes Mercedes' development rate for 2026!

18:43, 01 Jul

Updated: 20:55, 01 Jul

byNorberto Mujica

Ferrari seemed to have turned a new leaf with the Scuderia performing consistently better in the past three races. Nevertheless Lewis Hamilton believes the Maranello-based team should follow Mercedes' suit and focus fully onto next year's car soon.

'Ferrari not a minute down still, but focus needs to shift to 2026'

In Austria, despite the dominance McLaren exerted over its rivals, it was both Ferrari drivers who crossed the line behind the papaya team. Charles Leclerc was 19 seconds down on the McLaren duo, whilst Hamilton finished 9 seconds behind his teammate. A gap that though lesser than in previous weekends, doesn't make the Briton hopeful of suddenly taking the challenge to McLaren's strong grip on both championships.

Speaking to media including GPblog after the race Hamilton said: "We're not a minute down this weekend which is great. We should be fully focused on, in terms of development, onto next year's car, soon."

Lewis Hamilton finished P4 in Austria, 10 seconds off teammate Charles Leclerc

Hamilton exposes Mercedes' F1 2026 development

Why should Ferrari take up the Briton's word? According to Hamilton 2026 is already on all team's minds, including on direct rivals' Mercedes, and as such they risk getting left behind with some catching up to do when the F1 2026 regulations overhaul comes into play.

"I'm sure all the teams are doing that already. I know Mercedes is already super focused on next year. The key is going to be developing that engine and making sure that [we're not behind] whoever comes up with the right philosophy for next year suspension wise and everything."

As far as Hamilton is concerned the SF-25 still has many gremlins that need to be ironed out to be a real championship contender, adding yet another reason to the list of why Ferrari should switch focus to next year.

"I'm trying to work with the engineers to make sure we rectify some of the issues with this car because there's a few problems that need fixing," the 7-time world champion concluded.