F1 Analysis: Ferrari are fudging, Hamilton's title bid is fading, it's time to make the call

Composite image of Leclerc, Hamilton and Vasseur all in Ferrari kit with a red background — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 Opinion

Ferrari are fudging, Hamilton's F1 title bid is fading, it's time to make the call

Ferrari's long wait for a drivers' champion looks like it may go on

Simmey Hannifin Donaldson F1 Editor

Motorsport journalist covering F1 since 2024

Wednesday 26 August 2026 19:45

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Heading into the summer break, Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari looked like he had the best chance of stopping Kimi Antonelli from walking away with the F1 title and becoming the sport's youngest-ever world champion.

With George Russell struggling at Mercedes, Max Verstappen absolutely nowhere in his 'undriveable' Red Bull and McLaren only just fully getting to grips with the new regulations, it truly felt like Hamilton had a shot at number 8.

However, Sunday's Dutch Grand Prix served as a brutal reality check for those hoping to see the Brit make F1 history this year, with Ferrari outpaced by their closest rivals and [yet again] stepping on their own toes when it came to strategy.

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Ferrari are doing Hamilton no favours

Ferrari delivered five upgrades to their SF-25 in Zandvoort - updates to their floor (x3), diffuser and beam wing - but even with those changes, they were unable to even get on the podium, never mind the top step.

Having finished seventh in the Sprint on Saturday, Hamilton came home in P4 in the Dutch Grand Prix, ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc but behind the three drivers he's going to realistically have to beat if he wants to be world champion in 2026.

Despite Toto Wolff's claims that Mercedes are broke and can't afford to bring upgrades to their car, the Silver Arrows look as quick as ever with Kimi Antonelli and George Russell securing a double podium for the team.

Meanwhile, the race in Zandvoort further strengthened the growing belief that McLaren are clawing their way back into title contention. That is now back-to-back victories for Lando Norris in Hungary and the Netherlands.

McLaren and Mercedes locked out the Dutch GP podium / Credit: Imago

Most egregious, though, was the fact that Ferrari got in their own way.

Hamilton should have been P3 on Sunday, but Ferrari trying to keep both drivers happy ultimately meant that they lost crucial time at a key point in the race.

Of course, they did tell Leclerc to box, but they could just as easily have instructed him to invert positions with his teammate, which would have saved the lost lap time for Hamilton and avoided the post-race discourse around the strategy that followed.

Hamilton's frustration with the team was clear for all to hear in his radio messages, while Leclerc was likely left equally irked by the fact that he was looking to extend his stint at that stage of the race, hence his hesitation to pit in the first place.

Ferrari had the right intentions - get Leclerc out of the way and Hamilton past on much fresher tyres - but their execution was left wanting. Massively.

As a result, in trying to keep everybody happy, they pleased nobody.

Ferrari must be bold and back Hamilton

Given the lost ground in Zandvoort and how things unfolded, it feels like the time for a mature conversation at Ferrari and for the team to take a pragmatic approach - back Hamilton as their number one driver until the end of 2026 (or at least as long as he has a shot at the title).

Of course, it might not be a popular move with many. Leclerc has just as much ambition as Hamilton to win the world championship this year, he's much-loved inside the team and its fans, and F1 spectators generally hate seeing team orders being invoked. However, it is simply a numbers game at this point.

2026 F1 Driver Standings after Dutch GP
Pos	Driver	Team	Points
1	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	242
2	George Russell	Mercedes	183
3	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	183
4	Lando Norris	McLaren Mastercard	159
5	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	155
6	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	112

Hamilton is third in the standings, 59 points behind Antonelli. Leclerc is fifth in the standings, 87 points behind the championship leader. Sure, Hamilton still faces an uphill battle to topple the Italian, but Leclerc's chances of doing so are even slimmer.

With that said, Ferrari must do everything in their power to make up the gap. Kimi Raikkonen's 2007 drivers' championship triumph remains Ferrari's most recent in the sport - a 19-year drought which is not befitting of such a historic, storied team with significant resources behind them.

Ferrari care more about drivers' championship than constructors'

Not only that, but Ferrari are a team that cares much more about winning the drivers' championship than the constructors', according to former Racing Point, Aston Martin and Alpine chief Otmar Szafnauer.

“You gotta focus on what your objective is … at a team where the Drivers' world championship for them is more meaningful than the Constructors' world championship," he said on the High Performance Racing podcast this week.

"They've always been like that. I think they’re the only team, which comes from old man [Enzo] Ferrari. So if that's your objective, then you make every decision in order to meet that objective and they're not doing it.”

Ultimately, F1 is a ruthless business, and Ferrari must now be just that, no matter who it upsets.

Hamilton remains their best and most realistic chance of ending their long drought for an F1 title this season, and until that's no longer the case, the team should be backing him to succeed at every opportunity.

It's time to make the call.

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Simmey Hannifin Donaldson - F1 Editor

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F1 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari Charles Leclerc