Lewis Hamilton F1 title boost as Ferrari prepare another huge upgrade package

Mercedes could be coming under huge pressure from Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari with reports the Italian team are planning a massive update to their SF-26.

The F1 title race appears to be a straight fight between Mercedes and Ferrari, with their drivers the top four in the drivers' standings after nine races.

Mercedes lead the way with Kimi Antonelli on 179 points, and while his team-mate George Russell is his closest challenger on 154 points, Lewis Hamilton is only a few points behind for Ferrari on 147.

While Mercedes dominated the first few races of the season, Ferrari have since responded to narrow the gap in performance.

In addition, Mercedes have suffered reliability problems on both cars, notably with Kimi Antonelli who was denied a likely victory at Silverstone for the British Grand Prix due to a bizarre broken wheel cover that left him finishing the race outside of the points. This has made the battle between the two teams even closer.

Ferrari first narrowed the gap at the Barcelona Grand Prix with an aerodynamic upgrade that helped Hamilton take his first win for the team since joining at the start of last season.

A second upgrade followed at the next race in Austria with Ferrari using the first token of their ADUO development to bring a boost in engine performance at the Red Bull Ring, although the team were well off the pace that weekend.

No upgrades were bought to Silverstone but Ferrari shocked many with its competitiveness, with Charles Leclerc taking his first win since 2024, and Hamilton claiming third.

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Ferrari launching third big upgrade

But according to Corriere della Sera, aerodynamics chief Diego Tondi was in the Ferrari garage at Silverstone, hinting greater focus on the aero side of the SF-26.

The publication adds that Ferrari's third big upgrade package of the season is expected to come immediately after the summer break at Zandvoort for the Dutch Grand Prix on August 23, with an aero focus on performance for a high downforce circuit.

Ferrari are expected to use the second ADUO token they have been given by the FIA to improve their engine, although this is likely to come later in the season at power dependent tracks such as Monza on September 6 for the Italian Grand Prix.

Advantage Ferrari

The news comes as Ferrari gain a slight advantage on their rivals by being the first team to drive on the new track for the Spanish Grand Prix in a filming day event.

The Madring circuit has been built and the facility itself is close to completion ahead of its debut on the calendar on September 13.

Ferrari had exclusive access to the track on Thursday (July 9) with Leclerc running in the SF-26 in the morning and Hamilton getting into the car for the afternoon.

The next race on the F1 calendar comes at the Belgian Grand Prix in July.

READ MORE: Verstappen 'upset' at Red Bull over major F1 exit decision

Written by

Dan Ripley - Global Editor

I've been a massive F1 fan since the mid 1990s and continue to study the history of the sport long before that. As an experienced motor sport reporter covering F1, MotoGP and the LeMans 24 Hour race, being part of GPFans has allowed me to work with a diverse team with all sorts of different backgrounds in watching the sport and given me a greater appreciation of F1.

View full biography

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