Lewis Hamilton is demanding that Ferrari strengthen their power unit performance for the 2027 Formula 1 season as the 41-year-old pursues what would be a record eighth world championship in the year ahead.
A maiden Ferrari victory at the Barcelona circuit in June had sparked optimism that Hamilton could mount a serious 2026 title assault, yet a disappointing sequence of results following the summer shutdown allowed Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli's championship lead to balloon to more than 100 points.
Hamilton halted a run of six consecutive races without a podium finish when he secured third place at the Bahrain Grand Prix held in Malaysia on Sunday, with only a suboptimal tyre selection at the start preventing him from deploying his strong pace to challenge Red Bull's Max Verstappen for the win.
In the aftermath of that positive performance, Hamilton outlined his reasoning for remaining optimistic about Ferrari's prospects heading into the new campaign.
I think fundamentally we've got a great car, and that's down to an amazing group of people back at the factory, who are really intelligent and have made the right decisions. As I've said before, we have been innovators this year. We've had things on the car that everyone else has often followed. It's just that we know we're down on power, and that's something that we just live with. We have to catch up for next year. We live with that deficit for the rest of this year.
Hamilton made these remarks to Sky Sports F1 as Ferrari prepares for the final seven rounds of the 2026 season, which commences with an inaugural Sprint event in Singapore this weekend.
The 41-year-old expressed optimism that Ferrari will have sufficient pace to pursue additional victories in the races that lie ahead.
But still, the car is improving, and I think we've got races coming up ahead that hopefully we'll still be able to get maybe a little bit closer. We just keep trying. And I'm enjoying the racing still. I still feel fit, still feel focused.
Power loss incident under FIA investigation
Hamilton's Malaysia weekend was complicated by a technical issue during the formation lap. According to Anadolu Agency reporting, Hamilton experienced a power loss in his Ferrari and was forced to shut down the engine before restarting it ahead of the race start.
The FIA has initiated a comprehensive review into the software-related power loss that impacted multiple cars during the formation lap at Sepang. According to the FIA's assessment, the problem stemmed from an "unprecedented combination" of low engine speed, low-grip conditions, wet-weather energy-management settings and the distinctive characteristics of the Sepang circuit configuration.
Vasseur backs team amid external scrutiny
The lead-up to the Malaysia Grand Prix was dominated by conjecture surrounding Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur's position, after Christian Horner, the former Red Bull chief, had publicly signalled his interest in the role.
Ferrari moved swiftly to reaffirm their backing for Vasseur before the race weekend, while Hamilton took aim at what he characterised as a "negative narrative" surrounding the Maranello outfit.
When asked if a strong combined result—which saw his team-mate Charles Leclerc finish one position behind him in fourth—would help dispel the negativity, Hamilton responded:
I hope it's not too negative chatter after Malaysia. We still got good points with third and fourth.
Vasseur adopted a measured stance, noting that managing a successful weekend is straightforward but maintaining team cohesion during difficult periods is what truly matters.
You know perfectly the weekends are much easier to manage when you are doing a strong performance. The most important thing is to be solid when it's not the case. Sometimes it won't be the case. It will happen to everybody. It was a tough weekend for McLaren. They came with a lot of expectations. It was difficult for them. But it's also in this situation that you have to react as a team and to stay together. It's always easy to deal with a good weekend.
The Ferrari principal's comments reflected the broader context of Mercedes' struggles post-summer break. Earlier analysis had suggested that Mercedes may have compromised their title prospects by front-loading development early in the season, leaving them exposed as rivals accelerated their upgrade programmes.
Singapore Sprint marks final new format weekend
Formula 1 moves directly to Singapore for what will be the final Sprint weekend of the 2026 season. According to Motorsport.com, Singapore is hosting a Sprint event for the first time, with competitive sessions scheduled across all three days of the weekend.
Track action begins this Friday and will be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1, with the championship battle intensifying as the season enters its closing stages. Hamilton will be seeking to continue the momentum from his Malaysia podium as Ferrari attempts to narrow the gap to Mercedes in both the drivers' and constructors' championships.
What happens next
The Singapore Grand Prix weekend runs from October 9 to 11, with the Sprint scheduled for October 10 and the main Grand Prix taking place on October 11, according to Formula 1's official schedule. With seven races remaining, every point will be crucial as Hamilton attempts to close the 100-point deficit to Antonelli and Ferrari works to deliver the power unit improvements Hamilton has identified as essential for a genuine 2027 title challenge.
