Lewis Hamilton clarifies stance on Ferrari preferential treatment in F1 title race

Lewis Hamilton has insisted he is not seeking preferential treatment over Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc amid the 2026 Formula 1 title battle. 

Seven-time world champion Hamilton is an outside contender in the title race after falling 76 points behind Andrea Kimi Antonelli, and 10 points behind the other Mercedes of George Russell, with 10 scheduled races remaining. 

Hamilton is 36 points clear of Leclerc following his team-mate’s retirement at the Italian Grand Prix, but the 41-year-old Briton admitted after the Monza race it is “far too late” for Ferrari to give him priority in the championship fight. 

When asked if he feels Ferrari should be fully backing him ahead of this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid, Hamilton replied: “That’s not actually really what I've been asking for.

“It's really just making sure we're executing to make sure we get the best result for the team. Instead of us working against each other and finishing fourth and fifth, maybe we can work together and get a podium, pull off more points.”

Ferrari brought an upgraded engine to Monza in the hope of closing its performance deficit to Mercedes, but Hamilton pointed out that the Maranello outfit is still lagging behind its main rival in terms of power on the straights. 

“Mercedes, if you look at the last race, they were six tenths a lap quicker on the straights,” Hamilton said. “Pretty much most of the other tracks, it was three or four tenths. We were losing just on the straights.

“I think we've done a really great job, given that we've had that deficit, and we continue to make improvements to the car. We've made improvements to the engine. We knew that the last [engine] upgrade wasn't going to be a silver bullet and close that gap completely. 

"But for me, it's really positive to see us continuously stepping forward. They are just very, very quick, and it's not easy.

“As I said, rather than focus on them – they're not a focus for me at the moment – I think our focus should just be, how we can do the best and execute the best on our weekends, because there'll be weekends where they're exceptional, and there'll be weekends where they maybe drop the ball.

“As long as we just focus on our consistency and trying to optimise our weekends, maybe there's going to be a moment where we are able to capitalise on, perhaps, their shortcomings.”