Lewis Hamilton will be pushing Ferrari to switch focus to 2026 as F1 title hopes come to an end

Lewis Hamilton has revealed that he would be pushing Ferrari to switch focus to the 2026 F1 regulations soon as the title bid for the year seems improbable. The 2026 season will be an important one for all teams as it will mark the introduction of the new technical regulations.

As part of the regulations, we're looking at slightly smaller cars compared to what we have right now. To add to this, we're looking at a return of active aerodynamics. Hence the drag reduction system that has been a fixture of the sport since 2011 will not be there anymore.

Ferrari, on its part, started the 2025 F1 season expecting strong results. The team was the top scorer in the second half of 2024. At the same time, the team almost won the title in the last race of the season. With Lewis Hamilton also joining Ferrari, there was an expectation that the car could fight for the title this time.

The way the season has gone, that has not been the case. Ferrari has only fought once for the win, and that too was down to Charles Leclerc's brilliance. Hamilton has won a sprint for the team as well but overall it has been a disappointing season.

The battle for either of the titles seems unlikely and hence talking to the media, including Motorsportweek, about the team's upgrade strategy, Lewis Hamilton revealed that he would soon be telling the team to switch focus to 2026. He said:

“I don’t know, if I’m honest. I don’t know what upgrades we have coming. We haven’t had an upgrade for quite some time. We’ll keep pushing with what we have, but before too soon I’ll be just saying focus on next year."

He added:

“So building foundations this year, learning about the tools in terms of structure, in terms of our processes, nailing those so when we arrive next year we’ll be with the car that we really want.”

Lewis Hamilton's teammate intends to push until the end

While Lewis Hamilton was not too sure when the upgrades were coming, Charles Leclerc revealed that he knew what was coming. The younger Ferrari driver opted not to get into speculation of what those upgrades could do, as he said that it was going to be hard to catch McLaren after the start that the team has had.

Leclerc still felt that he was going to fight until the end with the team and hoped to achieve something from the season. He said:

“I don’t want to be thinking so much long-term just because I have no visibility. I mean, I know what’s going to come for us in terms of small adjustments and improvements on the car."

He added:

“I don’t know what’s coming for the team, so it’s very difficult to predict or expect anything. On paper it’s going to be a tough one to go and beat McLaren on a year like this where they’ve been so dominant for the first part of the season. It’s going to be very tough, but I’ll give everything until the end."

Compared to Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton has not had the best run with Ferrari. Throughout the season, the qualifying and race head-to-head have been very one-sided, with Leclerc losing only twice in qualifying and once in races.