Hamilton Hopeful Ferrari Can Close 'Bigger Than Anticipated' Spa Deficit

Lewis Hamilton is confident Ferrari can recover ground at the Belgian Grand Prix despite admitting the team's Friday deficit was larger than expected at Spa-Francorchamps. The seven-time champion ended FP2 seven tenths behind championship leader Kimi Antonelli but remained upbeat about finding pace before qualifying.

Why it matters:

Hamilton sits third in the 2026 standings, trailing Mercedes' Antonelli by 32 points as he chases a record eighth title. With four podiums in his last five races, momentum is building, but Spa's demanding layout has exposed a gap that could prove costly without overnight improvements.

The details:

• Hamilton was within a tenth of Max Verstappen in FP1 but slipped back in the second session as Antonelli topped the timesheets.
• The Briton identified the middle sector as Ferrari's primary weakness, acknowledging rivals looked "really strong" while his own car felt decent overall.
• Hamilton outpaced teammate Charles Leclerc in both sessions, providing a useful benchmark as the team searches for answers.
• Verstappen reported an immediately balanced Red Bull despite abandoning their rotating rear wing experiment, though he was nearly half a second off Antonelli's FP2 benchmark.
• McLaren's Lando Norris emerged as Antonelli's closest challenger, just 0.190s behind, though he carries a 10-place grid penalty for Sunday after exceeding his control electronics allowance.

What's next:

Saturday qualifying will test whether Ferrari's overnight adjustments can unlock the single-lap pace needed to challenge at the front. Hamilton is hopeful the Scuderia can close the gap to Antonelli and Verstappen, but with McLaren also in the mix, the battle for pole at Spa looks set to be tight.