Lewis Hamilton has urged Ferrari to “turn up the heat” in its pursuit of Mercedes, with both of his former teams having been on a strong run of form.
According to Plante F1, Mercedes flew out of the blocks in 2026 and, though Hamilton and Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc have taken a win apiece this year, McLaren has also seen a surge forward of late, with Lando Norris having won the last two races, either side of the summer break.
Lewis Hamilton sends ‘turn up the heat’ message
Ferrari heads to its spiritual home next weekend at Monza, with Leclerc’s 2024 victory at the Temple of Speed having been the Scuderia’s first win at the Italian Grand Prix since Leclerc’s previous triumph in 2019.
Hamilton highlighted this work ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix weekend, too, saying he is “really proud” of how Ferrari has improved and dubbed the team ‘innovators’ for its work in bringing new parts.Lewis Hamilton urges Ferrari to “turn up the heat” against Mercedes.
Seven-time world champion told media, “We’re in a much different place than we than we have been in the past, obviously in the last year.”
“We’re still second in the Constructors’ Championship. We’ve got a lot of positives to take from this first half, but the next ones, we really need to turn up the heat if we’re going to have any chance of beating these guys,” he added.
Hamilton dropped to third in the Drivers’ standings after the Dutch Grand Prix, and while he is level on points with George Russell, the Mercedes driver sits ahead due to having more race victories so far in 2026.
Ferrari has spent much of the first half of the season placing a heavy emphasis on developing the SF-26, bringing upgrades to almost every race so far this year.
