Lewis Hamilton issues Ferrari 'huge' instruction in Mercedes pursuit

Lewis Hamilton has told Ferrari it faces a "huge step" if it is to reel Mercedes in over coming grands prix.

Although Ferrari has proved to be Mercedes' closest rivals at the start of F1's new regulatory cycle, the W17 has proved a quicker machine than the SF-26, with George Russell able to pull 19.7s clear of third-place Hamilton over the second half of the Chinese GP despite battling with Hamilton and Charles Leclerc at the mid-way point of the race.

Mercedes is believed to hold an advantage in a straight line over Ferrari, but Hamilton does feel that his elusive first win for the Scuderia is on the horizon, if it can deliver a "huge step" with an upgrade package, which will not arrive before May's Miami GP owing to the cancellations of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian races.

Speaking about his hopes of landing a first win since the 2024 Belgian GP for Mercedes, Hamilton believes it is "more in sight than ever," but that the team requires a leap forward.

"I definitely feel that I could say that it’s more in sight than ever before," Hamilton told media, including RacingNews365. 

"Last year, it couldn’t have been further from view. But I think, as you’ve seen, in qualifying, somehow we were a little bit closer in qualifying, but in race trim, I think they’ve got four or five tenths on us at the moment.

"That’s a huge step to pick up, both in downforce and efficiency and also power. That’s a huge upgrade that we need to push for. 

"But I really do believe in everyone back in Maranello and that it’s not an impossible feat to overcome. 

"So yeah, forza Ferrari, we’ve just got to keep pushing."