Hamilton sends Ferrari a clear team orders plea

Lewis Hamilton has made his strongest plea yet for Ferrari to treat him as its clear championship lead driver, warning that the team's 2026 title hopes are 'getting dimmer' as it continues to split its support between him and Charles Leclerc.

Why it matters:

Hamilton trails championship leader Kimi Antonelli by 59 points, with Leclerc a further 28 behind. Antonelli is starting at the back at Monza because of engine penalties, and Mercedes still appears to have the fastest car — so Ferrari cannot afford many more weekends like this, where Hamilton felt operational choices cost him track position and momentum.

The Details:

• Hamilton qualified fifth at Monza, one spot behind Leclerc, and was unhappy with Ferrari's qualifying run plan.
• He said a planned 'push-cool-cool-push' sequence fell apart because Leclerc did not want to go out first, leaving Hamilton with only one push lap in Q2.
• In Q3, Ferrari failed to send him out early enough on the first run, so he lost the tow and was left isolated.
• "I didn't have any wheels on the car basically and everyone left whilst my engine was running," Hamilton explained.
• He also pointed to Alpine as an example of teamwork done right, saying "looking from a distance, it looked like they worked really well as a team."
• On Ferrari's title chances, he added: "There's light at the end of the tunnel, but it's getting dimmer the further we get through."

What's next:

Ferrari faces a difficult call. Leclerc is now on an even longer-term contract and can argue that 283 points remain available, enough for him to stay in contention. But Hamilton, with the bigger points gap to close, is adamant the team must 'come correct and act accordingly' to maximize its results.