Lewis Hamilton Agrees Ferrari Is “The Car to Beat” — Once Maranello Fixes the One Thing Holding It Back

The paddock consensus on Ferrari in 2026 is that the chassis is exceptional, the aerodynamics are among the best on the grid, and the SF-26 is genuinely fast through the corners. The problem is everything that happens on the straights.

When an interviewer suggested that ‘if you can get that extra bit of power you are the ones to beat,’ Lewis Hamilton was confident in his response. “Yes, absolutely,” he said. “I mean the guys at the factory have done an amazing job with the car and we still have improvements to make but the car is fantastic.”

It’s about as unambiguous as Hamilton gets.

The Power Gap Is Real, and Ferrari Knows It

Ferrari has emerged as one of Mercedes‘ closest challenger in 2026, but the team is under no illusions that it carries a deficit of around half a second.

Ferrari holds an edge in corners and has an advantage at race starts, while Mercedes is well clear when it comes to power and top speed.

Hamilton has been living this every weekend, and his words reflect it: “It’s just a battle of development the rest of the season… we are at the mercy of the lack of power that we have.”

The engineperformance deficit to Mercedes is believed to be in the region of 30 horsepower. Some estimates put it slightly lower – sources indicate an approximate shortfall of 25 horsepower compared to the benchmark Mercedes power unit – but the direction is consistent. Ferrari prioritized reliability at the start of the 2026 season, and the cost is a power unit with, per reporting from AutoRacer.it, no meaningful development potential, representing more of a backup plan to comply with new 2026 fuel requirements.

The roots of the problem go back further. The original power unit project developed under Wolf Zimmermann – who later departed Ferrari to join Audi – ultimately failed due to an inaccurate estimate regarding combustion efficiency and the degradation process, which created significant reliability problems during dyno testing.

“Obviously the engine reliability is obviously very good, it’s just when you’re lacking that straight line speed against the Merc, it’s very very tough. But, nonetheless, we are head down with this and we expect that the rest of the season – that’s just the way it is so we’ll just try and see if we can continue to add downforce to the car and try to close the gap. If we can get through the corners in some some races maybe we can get closer to challenge the front runners.”

What Ferrari raced at the season opener was effectively the fallback option. Relief is now on the way.

Hamilton and Charles Leclerc are expected to wait until the Belgian Grand Prix for the ADUO-sanctioned engine upgrades.

Ferrari’s engineers have already started designing modifications to the combustion chamber to improve performance at higher revs, and are also looking to modify the turbo by increasing the number of vanes and the angle on the impeller.

The target, per Motorsport.com reporting, is to at least halve the deficit to Mercedes through the ADUO system.

The SF-26 already boasts excellent aerodynamic efficiency and a highly competitive chassis, with both areas developed in close alignment with the power unit concept.

If Ferrari can unlock some more power to lose out less on the straights, that could be significant in helping it make better use of its other core strengths. That’s the season in one sentence, really. Ferrari has built a car capable of winning. The engine department just needs to catch up to it.