‘Massively down’ - Lewis Hamilton details worrying Ferrari power deficit to F1 benchmark Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton says Ferrari’s power deficit is holding it back from fighting Mercedes during the 2026 Formula 1 season.

Seven-time world champion Hamilton secured his best result as a Ferrari driver by finishing second at the Canadian Grand Prix, having overcome old F1 title rival Max Verstappen in a thrilling late battle.

Hamilton finished over 10 seconds behind Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who took an unchallenged fourth consecutive victory after Mercedes team-mate George Russell retired with power unit problems.

Mercedes has enjoyed an unbeaten start to 2026 so far, winning each of the five opening grands prix. Other than briefly challenging in the early laps of some races, Ferrari has not been able to fight Mercedes on merit.

And Hamilton has pinpointed Ferrari being “massively down” on power compared to Mercedes as the main reason for this.

“If you take away the power deficit, we’re in the fight with these guys. But unfortunately that’s not the way it is today,” Hamilton admitted.

“I think in the moment I’m like, ‘I need more power somehow,’ because I’m able to hold on or keep up with them through the corners and I can’t push the pedal any further. And you see them just eking out the straight and you catch them back in the brakes, they eke it out in the straight. It’s really hard.

“Even when you get the overtake [mode],when you get within a second, they still pull away. So that’s how much grunt that they have, and we’re massively down. But I really hope with this new rule that enables us to try to improve [and find] some performance, so we can get back in the fight with them.”

The new rule Hamilton referenced is the Additional Development Upgrade Opportunity [ADUO] regulation, which the FIA is preparing to roll out.

Under this rule, any manufacturer that is between 2-4 percent behind the best engine in the field will be granted one additional upgrade for the current season and one for the following season.

Ferrari is expected to qualify for the crucial upgrade, though that has not yet been confirmed.

Looking ahead to next weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix, Hamilton is hopeful Ferrari may be able to challenge at the front.

“That’s the one track that power is not king. I think that’s definitely car performance. I think our car could be really strong there,” the 41-year-old Briton said.

“I’m really going to focus on making sure I arrive with the same energy as I had this weekend, really study hard with the engineers to make sure we position the car in the right place from practice one.”