F1 News: Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari took 'alarming step backwards' at Austrian Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari took 'alarming step backwards' at Austrian Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton finished fifth in Austria, having qualified up in third

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Tuesday 30 June 2026 09:10 Updated: 10:05

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Alarm bells will be ringing for the Ferrari F1 team following Lewis Hamilton's Austrian Grand Prix performance, according to Italian media.

Hamilton's recent grand prix win at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix led to hopes that he was in the hunt for an eighth world title, moving to within 41 points of Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli.

McLaren's Lando Norris even stated that Ferrari would 'embarrass' all the other teams, if they had a better power unit, describing them as the 'class of the field'.

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Yet despite this, Hamilton could only finish fifth in Austria, quieting talk of a championship tilt for now.

Unlike some of Hamilton's lowly finishes in 2025 when he himself was in poor form, this fifth-place finish felt like all that the SF-26 was capable of, clearly behind the Mercedes cars and struggling up against the Red Bulls and McLarens too.

Hamilton's team-mate Charles Leclerc could also only finish down in eighth, despite having qualified up in second during Saturday qualifying.

Ferrari suffer an 'alarming step backwards

Gazzetta are known to have particularly high expectations when it comes to Ferrari, slamming Hamilton's form regularly last year.

But recently, they have been much more complimentary about the team, and have got carried away about the thought of Hamilton becoming the team's first drivers' champion since Kimi Raikkonen in 2007.

Not anymore.

"It was nice to briefly entertain the idea that Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari could battle for the world championship against Kimi Antonelli and the Silver Arrows," the above publication began. "But just two weeks have passed since the Ferrari champion's triumph at Montmelo and we're back to the harsh reality.

"Among the green Austrian hills of the Red Bull Ring, Mercedes dominated, with a resurgent George Russell and a constantly attacking Kimi, while the role of third wheel this time fell to Max Verstappen. There was nothing the Prancing Horse could do.

"The rivals' engines were too powerful, and tyre degradation was too high compared to their rivals.

"An alarming step backwards compared to the performance in Spain, especially since the Maranello team was using a new, advanced power unit.

Austria was a tough weekend for Ferrari.

"It seems unlikely Hamilton will be able to bounce back on Saturday and Sunday at Silverstone, the English temple of speed. Nor is there any reason to believe in a miracle from Charles Leclerc, who has fallen into the darkest period of his Ferrari career."

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