Lewis Hamilton believes \u201cthe opportunity is there\u201d to challenge for title glory in 2026, even if Ferrari have \u201ca real battle on our hands\u201d to build on their recent strong form and overhaul early pace-setters Mercedes.<\/p>\n
Hamilton<\/a> broke Mercedes<\/a>\u2019 winning start to the season with victory in Barcelona last time out, marking his first Grand Prix win for Ferrari<\/a>, and banishing the demons<\/a> of a difficult maiden campaign in red.<\/p>\n Arriving in Austria, Hamilton is championship leader Kimi Antonelli<\/a>\u2019s nearest rival, sitting 41 points adrift, while Ferrari have cut the gap to Mercedes in the Teams\u2019 Standings \u2013 72 points separating the two squads.<\/p>\n Asked on media day if he senses a chance to kick on and mount a title bid, with Ferrari\u2019s recent car updates<\/a> appearing to work, and an engine update<\/a> due to be debuted at the Red Bull Ring, Hamilton expressed cautious optimism.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the opportunity is there, but it\u2019s one thing being there and it\u2019s another thing galvanising the troops and developing,\u201d said Hamilton. \u201cYou can hit plateaus in terms of development, so all we can do is take it one day at a time, and all we can do is really continue to bring everything.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone brings something to the team and everyone back at the factory is working so hard. They see what\u2019s possible, and when you see what\u2019s possible, it\u2019s a north star, you know that\u2019s the direction we need to go.<\/p>\n \u201cWhether the team has had that for a while, I\u2019m not sure, but last year we didn\u2019t really have a north star, and this year we have it. This year, everyone is doubling down, everyone is putting that extra bit of work in even more than before.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s starting to show, and the stuff coming this weekend, we do have a new engine. It\u2019s a step, not the whole gap, but it\u2019s a step. It\u2019s one foot forwards, which I\u2019m really proud and thankful for.<\/p>\n \u201cStill, Mercedes are the team to beat, they\u2019ve won everything else and they\u2019ve been just incredible this year \u2013 a great car, an amazing team, a World Championship team. So, we have a real battle on our hands, and it\u2019s going to take everyone for the rest of the year to even come close to competing with them, but I don\u2019t think it\u2019s impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n Hamilton was also asked how the narrative around his time at Ferrari, and the last few years in general, has shifted from talk of retirement to pushing for what would be an outright record eighth world title.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been crazy to see the flip and people changing their minds from the things they were saying previously,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t really take much notice of that. I think what I\u2019ve seen, and most importantly for me, is the love from the fans and how people experienced it with me. That meant a lot.<\/p>\n \u201cIn terms of the championship, I\u2019m not letting that stuff… I\u2019ve been here before. I know what I have to do, and there\u2019s a long way to go. We\u2019re not arriving at this weekend thinking about the championship, we\u2019re thinking about this weekend, executing the best we can.<\/p>\n