Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc can be confident of an improvement to their Ferrari in the second half of the season.
It hasn’t been the start to the year that Lewis Hamilton hoped for when he joined Ferrari. He is without a podium so far, snapping Hamilton’s Silverstone streak in their last race, and the team sits 238 points behind McLaren in the Constructors’ standings.
| Position | Constructors' Standings | Points |
| 1 | McLaren Racing | 460 |
| 2 | Scuderia Ferrari | 222 |
| 3 | Mercedes-AMG Petronas | 210 |
| 4 | Red Bull Racing | 172 |
The Scuderia have shown signs of improvement of late, however, and now are second in the table. And there are yet more indications that they will close the gap on McLaren in the second half of the season.
Ferrari showing ‘positive signs’ after mid-season upgrades
Ferrari has spent their three-week break between Silverstone and Spa by testing a new upgrade to their suspension. Hamilton and Leclerc drove for 100 kilometres each with the new part, and signs coming out of Mugello are that all went as expected.
Motorsport Italia reported that the new suspension will enable them to run the car lower, thereby increasing downforce and improving on-track performance. Reports say the improvement will be as much as a tenth per lap, which is significant in the current margins.
That could have meant pole position for Hamilton at Silverstone, when it was instead fifth on the grid. McLaren have been worried about Ferrari’s pace, and this could mean another stride towards the championship leaders for F1’s most successful team.
They have two of the best drivers on the F1 grid, and Hamilton is desperate for his eighth world title. But Ferrari need to show him signs that they can give him the car to achieve this in 2026.
Lewis Hamilton is closing the gap to Charles Leclerc
Hamilton has been off the pace of his teammate Leclerc to start the season, but that gap is narrowing. He beat Leclerc with a fourth-place finish at the British Grand Prix and outqualified him on Saturday.
Hamilton has been unhappy with his Ferrari throughout the season, but has taken lessons from Leclerc, who has spent five seasons with the team.
These new upgrades should make the car’s working window even larger, bringing it in Hamilton’s direction as he gets to grips with the car.
He is currently just 16 points behind Leclerc in the Drivers’ standings, and beating him come the end of the season would make Hamilton optimistic of breaking Michael Schumacher’s record of seven Driver’s titles.