Lewis Hamilton does not believe Ferrari's ADUO-boosted engine upgrade will be the immediate fix to close the gap to Mercedes. The British driver insists that while the team is making progress, it is not yet the "silver bullet" needed to match the Silver Arrows.
Ferrari was granted ADUO by the FIA to bring two power unit upgrades in 2026 and another two in 2027. The first upgrade arrived at the Italian Grand Prix, focusing on the turbo. From the start of the season, Ferrari designed a smaller turbo to reduce lag and improve responsiveness out of corners, but it compromised top-end straight-line speed.
Mercedes is also expected to introduce its own ADUO-boosted engine before the end of the season, with George Russell waiting for the new unit. However, Hamilton feels Ferrari's steps, while positive, are not enough to consistently challenge Mercedes.
"If you look at [the Italian Grand Prix], they were six-tenths quicker on the straights, and at most other tracks, it is three or four tenths," Hamilton told the media, including RacingNews365.
"So, 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 upgrade wasn't going to be the silver bullet and close that gap completely. But for me, it's really positive to see us continuously stepping forward very quickly, and it's not easy."
Hamilton's title hopes have faded after falling 101 points behind Kimi Antonelli following his DNF in the Spanish GP. He believes the team must focus on its own execution after a messy period with grid penalties, including for impeding Oscar Piastri in qualifying in Hungary.
"So, rather than focus on them, they're not a focus for me at the moment," he said. "Our focus should just be on how we can do our best and execute our 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 an immediate moment where we can capitalise on perhaps their shortcomings."
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