‘Massively down’ – Lewis Hamilton confirms main Ferrari weakness to Mercedes W17

Lewis Hamilton has admitted that the Ferrari SF-26 is “massively down” on power compared to Mercedes in the F1 2026 season.

And he has backed Ferrari to be “really strong” at this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix, offering a reminder that it is “the one track that power is not king.”

Lewis Hamilton: Ferrari SF-26 ‘massively down’ on Mercedes in straight line

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After a winless 2025 campaign, Ferrari has enjoyed a solid start to F1 2026 with four podium finishes across the opening five races.

Hamilton has stood on the podium twice in China and Miami, with teammate Charles Leclerc finishing third on two occasions in Australia and Japan.

Despite the team’s promising start to the season, the Scuderia remains without a race victory since Hamilton’s predecessor Carlos Sainz triumphed at the 2024 Mexican Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton vs Charles Leclerc: Ferrari head-to-head stats for F1 2026 season

F1 2026: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between teammates

F1 2026: Head-to-head race statistics between teammates

Mercedes has taken victory at every race held so far in F1 2026, with Kimi Antonelli collecting four in a row to establish a commanding 43-point lead over teammate George Russell in the drivers’ standings.

Hamilton was heard complaining about a lack of power over team radio in Montreal, where he finished more than 10 seconds adrift of Antonelli’s Mercedes.

Ferrari is expected to qualify for the FIA’s Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities (ADUO) scheme, which has been introduced to help struggling power unit manufacturers to catch up under the F1 2026 rules.

The FIA is expected to make an imminent decision on the manufacturers eligible for ADUO with Audi and Honda also expected to be included in the first batch.

Asked if Monaco’s unique layout could present a chance for Ferrari to win in Monaco, Hamilton admitted that opportunity knocks for the Scuderia this weekend.

And he conceded that it is “really hard” to keep up with Mercedes on more conventional circuits even with access to the new overtake mode, which provides a temporary power boost.

Hamilton said of Ferrari’s chances in Monaco: “That’s the one track that power is not king.

“I think that’s definitely [dependent on pure] car performance. I think our car could be really strong there.

“I’m really going to focus on making sure I arrive with the same energy as I had this weekend [Canada], really study hard with the engineers to make sure we position the car in the right place from Practice 1.

“And 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.

“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], 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 [ADUO] that enables us to try to improve some performance, so we can get back in the fight with them.

“But Monaco should be fun.”

As reported by PlanetF1.com last week, the FIA has effectively banned active aero for the Monaco Grand Prix weekend.

It marks the first time that moveable wings will be made unavailable for an entire race weekend since active aero’s predecessor, DRS, was introduced in 2011.

The temporary ban means that Ferrari’s rotating rear wing, which has been a permanent feature on the SF-26 car since the Miami Grand Prix, will not appear at all in Monte Carlo.

Hamilton first identified Ferrari’s poor straight-line speed at the second race of the season in China, claiming that Mercedes’ advantage increases when Straight Mode – the term used when active aero is open – comes into effect.

He said at the time of Mercedes’ edge: “It seems more so when they open up the ESM – that’s when they take a huge step, so whatever’s going on in that phase is an area we need to understand.

“They seem to have a little bit more deployment, so less de-rating at the end of the straights than some of us.

“So we’ve just got to work on trying to see how we can eke out more from our engine.”

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