Ferrari F1 plan one last Lewis Hamilton title assault with exciting upgrades

Hamilton en Kardashian in de schijnwerpers bij opening Lucas Museum in LA — Photo: © IMAGO

Ferrari

Ferrari plan one last Lewis Hamilton F1 title assault with exciting upgrades

Ferrari are up against it but want to end the season strongly

Simmey Hannifin Donaldson F1 Editor

Motorsport journalist covering F1 since 2024

Monday 21 September 2026 21:03

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Lewis Hamilton's F1 title hopes have taken an almost fatal hit over the last month, but Ferrari are looking to finish the season strongly as they eye bringing further upgrades to the SF-26 in October.

The three grands prix in Zandvoort, Monza and Madrid in recent weeks went about as badly as they could have done for Hamilton and his title ambitions in 2026, with Kimi Antonelli scoring 73 points across the Dutch, Italian and Spanish Grands Prix compared to Hamilton's 22.

When F1 paused following the Hungarian Grand Prix in July, Hamilton sat second in the championship and with a 50-point deficit to Antonelli, but that now stands at 101 points after the Brit's rough return in recent races.

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On top of all of that, there has been clear on-track tension between Hamilton and his team-mate Charles Leclerc, with Ferrari refusing to declare Hamilton their number one driver and give him priority despite his superior position in the points standings.

Ferrari set for upgrades at US Grand Prix

Still, despite poor recent results and that tension, Hamilton and Ferrari are not mathematically out of the drivers' championship just yet, even if it is a massive long shot at this stage.

With nine rounds of the season to go, including one sprint race in Singapore, there are still a maximum of 233 points that Hamilton could claim, and Ferrari are trying to give him the tools to finish the year as strongly as possible.

After making aerodynamic changes to their car in Zandvoort last month and delivering a new spec power unit in Monza, Ferrari are reportedly set to bring further upgrades at the United States Grand Prix next month.

The Race reports that Ferrari are bringing aerodynamic upgrades to the SF-26 for the event in Texas, which takes place across the weekend of October 23-25.

As per their report, these upgrades are set to focus on the floor and comprise a 'more substantial evolution' of the upgrades that Ferrari delivered at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix back in June, where Hamilton won his first grand prix in red.

F1 2026 remaining calendar

The only bad news for Hamilton and Ferrari is that the US Grand Prix comes in four races' time, with just nine events remaining on the F1 schedule in 2026 at present.

This could yet be further disrupted, too, if any further cancellations are made to the final two races in the Middle East.

**F1 2026 remaining calendar**
Round	Grand Prix	Track	Date
15	Azerbaijan Grand Prix	Baku City Circuit	24-26 Sep
16	Bahrain Grand Prix	Sepang International Circuit	2-4 Oct
17	Singapore Grand Prix	Marina Bay Street Circuit	9-11 Oct
18	United States Grand Prix	Circuit of the Americas	23-25 Oct
19	Mexico City Grand Prix	Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez	30 Oct-1 Nov
20	São Paulo Grand Prix	Interlagos	6-8 Nov
21	Las Vegas Grand Prix	Las Vegas Strip Circuit	19-21 Nov
22	Qatar Grand Prix	Lusail International Circuit	27-29 Nov
23	Abu Dhabi Grand Prix	Yas Marina Circuit	4-6 Dec