Lewis Hamilton delivers clear verdict on latest Ferrari boost

Lewis Hamilton has stated Ferrari's engine upgrade at Monza will not completely allow it to overcome the deficit to its rivals.

Ferrari has been known to lack pace in a straight line throughout the opening half of the 2026 season.

The Maranello-based squad brought its first engine upgrade to Austria earlier this year and then targeted its home event at the Italian Grand Prix for a second modification.

It has struggled for form at the last two rounds and has failed to clinch a podium in that period - but Hamilton is keen to end that streak and seal his first win as a Ferrari driver on the team's soil.

Having already won twice this year, Ferrari is pushing to keep the pressure on championship leaders Mercedes, leaving Hamilton proud of the effort.

“Every little helps,” Hamilton told media including RacingNews365. 

“Up until this point of the year, we’ve been losing, even in the last race on such a short circuit, we were losing four tenths a lap through the race. 

“So that’s a huge deficit and we’ve carried that through the year to this point. 

“And what I can say is I’m just really, really proud of when I go back to the factory and I see how hard everyone is working, that they’re really just heads down. 

“Everyone’s so enthusiastic. I see a different focus this year to last year. Last year, I felt like there wasn’t really a North Star. 

“We were kind of, I think, doing the best we could, but not really knowing where exactly we’re trying to aim for. And now we have a North Star. We know we need to work towards.”

With another engine upgrade set to be deployed on Friday, Hamilton is hopeful it will aid its effort to contend for victory.

However, the seven-time champion admitted the new adjustments will not be enough to draw level with the benchmark.  

“I think they’ve done a tremendous job to really pull together and deliver,” he said. 

“And this is a step forward. It’s not the whole gap that we need, but we knew that would be the case. 

“But to see bits coming each weekend, adding to the car, it’s exciting to see that we are pushing and, you know, strongly still believe that we’ve got what it takes to win.”