Lewis Hamilton is focused on putting Ferrari back “where they belong” as he enters the second half of this year’s Formula 1 championship with an outside shot at the title.
The seven-time champion had a difficult first season with Ferrari in 2025, but is now second in the drivers’ standings after securing his first win for the Italian team at June’s Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.
He has a 50-point gap to Kimi Antonelli in the standings, while Ferrari is 72 points adrift of Mercedes in the constructors’ championship.
The season will get back underway this weekend at the Dutch Grand Prix following F1’s month-long summer break.
“I’m enjoying where we are,” Hamilton said when asked about his position in the title race.
“It’s amazing to come out of a break and be in a scenario where we’re right in the mix with the top four teams, second in the championship, Ferrari one step away from where they belong.
“Our goal is to make that next step. It’s not going to be easy against Mercedes or even the other two teams [McLaren and Red Bull] because I think they’ve all done a really great job.”
Hamilton said he used August’s hiatus in racing to train harder than he has during any summer break in his career.
“This has been the most different summer break that I’ve ever had in all my championship seasons,” he added. “My career journey, I think, for one. Normally, you go away and you take a week off or two weeks off. There’s a bit of partying and all that sort of stuff. I really took this as an opportunity to really level up.
“I trained for three weeks. I’ve come back the fittest I’ve ever come back in summer in the 20 years that I’ve been here. I’m really proud of that, the work that we’ve put in.
“I’ve done a lot of analysis to look at where we have been, the things that we did well, the things that we leave behind, looking at schedule moving forward, taking out things that don’t ultimately get me to where I want to be.
“I’ve come in really feeling definitely refreshed. It’s a different sort of thing rather than relaxed. I feel energised. It’s a good feeling, feeling fit.”
