MADRID — Lewis Hamilton has clarified he is not seeking preferential treatment over Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc as the 2026 Formula 1 title battle heads to this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid. The seven-time world champion, 41, said it is "far too late" for Ferrari to give him priority after falling 76 points behind Mercedes' Andrea Kimi Antonelli and 10 points behind George Russell with 10 scheduled races remaining.
Hamilton sits 36 points clear of Leclerc following his team-mate's retirement at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, but insisted team execution matters more than internal hierarchy. "That's not actually really what I've been asking for," Hamilton said. "It's really just making sure we're executing to make sure we get the best result for the team. Instead of us working against each other and finishing fourth and fifth, maybe we can work together and get a podium, pull off more points."
Ferrari introduced an upgraded engine at Monza to close its performance deficit to Mercedes, yet Hamilton said the gap on the straights remains significant. "Mercedes, if you look at the last race, they were six tenths a lap quicker on the straights," Hamilton said. "Pretty much most of the other tracks, it was three or four tenths. We were losing just on the straights. I think we've done a really great job, given that we've had that deficit, and we continue to make improvements to the car. We've made improvements to the engine. We knew that the last [engine] upgrade wasn't going to be a silver bullet and close that gap completely."
"But for me, it's really positive to see us continuously stepping forward. They are just very, very quick, and it's not easy," Hamilton added. "As I said, rather than focus on them – they're not a focus for me at the moment – I think our focus should just be, how we can do the best and execute the best on our weekends, because there'll be weekends where they're exceptional, and there'll be weekends where they maybe drop the ball. As long as we just focus on our consistency and trying to optimise our weekends, maybe there's going to be a moment where we are able to capitalise on, perhaps, their shortcomings."