Ferrari has missed its opportunity to shape F1 title fight – Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton says he won’t give up on his title hopes after a disappointing Italian Grand Prix, but he believes the destiny of the 2026 Formula 1 world championship is out of Ferrari's hands.

Hamilton and Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc fought on the opening lap of the race, when Hamilton tried to pass Leclerc into the first corner only to be be pushed wide on the exit of the chicane and losing multiple positions. Leclerc later crashed out and Hamilton was limited to sixth place while Antonelli won from 19th on the grid, and the seven-time world champion says Ferrari needed to take action earlier in the year to help its chances of putting pressure on Mercedes.

“We've just lost so much ground to them on points,” Hamilton said. “It's far too late for that, for those decisions [about the approach between the drivers] to come. It’s a number of weeks too late. All I can do is just try and turn up. I'll get up tomorrow morning and I'll give it my best.

“Ultimately, I feel massively gutted for the tifosi, who showed up for us, [and] the guys back at the factory, who really, really are giving it everything. [In qualifying] we didn't really execute that well. I think the same [in the race]. It's tough, because I'm giving it everything I can, but sometimes it's just not enough. You need all the other stuff to come together.

“I mean, it's never over until it's over. I don't know how many points it is now - I’m sure it's 60, 70, I don’t know. It's an amount that, with the pace that they have, it's a very, very difficult amount to close up.”

After the race Leclerc said the Ferrari drivers went too far in the way they raced each other on the opening lap, but Hamilton – who is now 76 points off the championship lead – believes the only way to prevent a repeat would be if team principal Fred Vasseur outlined different rules of engagement.

“Look, I don't race dirty," Hamilton said. "I've always raced clean and fairly, and always left space. I don't think they should be worried about me. I've come into the team and tried to be respectful of space and definitely not put the team in jeopardy. I stand by that, and that's all I can talk about is on my side.

“You have to speak to Fred about the other side and the decisions that are taken there. But I'll keep pushing, and trying to get more from the team, and from our car, and from the engineers and design and everything like that.

“Ultimately [executing better] comes from the top. It trickles down, the decisions. It starts with Fred. There's only so much you can say, so much you can push and shout from the mountaintop. [On Saturday] I said that we've got to look at just how we communicate. If we continue to travel the same path, you get the same result. And it's like we keep getting the same result.

“We've got to change things because it's not helping us to move forward. I think they were receptive to it, and we'll take it offline.”