Lewis Hamilton fires McLaren warning shot

Lewis Hamilton has argued McLaren's current pace advantage in F1 is not "insurmountable", but insists it is unlikely Ferrari will be able to close the gap. The British driver joined the Scuderia over the winter with hopes of battling at the sharp end of the grid against his former team. Last season, Ferrari came tantalisingly close to ending its title drought, which has been ongoing since taking the 2008 constructors' crown - the year the 40-year-old claimed his first drivers' championship, at McLaren. Ultimately coming up 14 points short of the Woking squad in an Abu Dhabi showdown, the Prancing Horse had high expectations for 2025. However, the SF-25 has so far been unable to deliver, and it does not appear that it will be a car capable of fighting for championship honours at any point this season. This has been compounded by a difficult start to life at the Italian squad for Hamilton, who has found himself only able to contend for consistent points finishes, aside from stronger results in sprints. 

Hamilton outlines topple target

Conversely, McLaren has built on its success from last year, leading the charge this campaign across both title fights. Max Verstappen, in third, is 49 points behind Oscar Piastri in the championship standings, with Lando Norris in between, and McLaren holds a significant advantage - 197 points - over Ferrari in second in the constructors' title fight. "It's an amazing job they've done," the seven-time F1 drivers' champion told the media, including RacingNews365 , when reflecting on the papaya team. "For me, it's half a second, but they're three-tenths clear, probably, to the guys behind. Just over three tenths, I think it is." Nonetheless, Hamilton does not believe the current deficit between the MCL39 and rival cars can be eradicated, even if Ferrari does not have a big enough reduction in lap time coming down the pipeline. "It's not an insurmountable amount that you could catch up," he explained. "But, for example, a lot of work went in... months went into developing and getting a tenth [of a second] of performance. "So I don't know if we have... we don't have half a second coming, that's for sure, which is what you'll need to topple them. But never say never."