Is Lewis Hamilton suddenly a surprise F1 title contender?

Back-to-back second-place finishes in Canada and Monaco have propelled Lewis Hamilton to second in the 2026 drivers' championship, yet the seven-time world champion knows that consistency alone will not be enough to reel in the rampant Kimi Antonelli.

Hamilton sits on 90 points after six rounds, 66 adrift of the 19-year-old Mercedes sensation who has won five of six races this season. 

It is the kind of deficit that demands more than damage limitation, and Hamilton has been refreshingly honest about the SF-26's shortcomings relative to the dominant W17.

"Mercedes clearly have been ahead of everybody for quite some time and we couldn't match him," Hamilton said after Monaco. "They're just on another level at the moment. When they're at their best, they're very, very, very hard to beat."

Those words carry extra weight when they come from someone who spent 12 seasons at Brackley. 

Hamilton also pointed to a visible aerodynamic shortfall in Monaco, noting: "Apart from wanting more downforce globally, I think when we arrived on Thursday, we saw other people, those guys, with trick additions to their wing. We didn't have that, which was a little bit of a surprise."

Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur has quantified the gap at roughly four to five tenths per lap, mainly on the straights. 

With at least 16 rounds still remaining, there is time, but Ferrari's development rate will determine whether Hamilton's recent momentum becomes a genuine title challenge or simply a run to best of the rest.

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