Lewis Hamilton Delivers Mercedes Warning After Australian GP Battle

Lewis Hamilton has insisted Ferrari can catch Mercedes and provide a challenge for the 2026 Formula 1 title despite the Silver Arrows' dominance at the Australian Grand Prix.

George Russell won the first round of the new season from pole position, although he was faced with an enthralling battle with Hamilton's Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc across the first stint of the race as the Scuderia's blistering race starts aided an early charge.

Hamilton started sixth after Oscar Piastri's pre-race crash but was third at the end of the first lap after battling past Red Bull's Isack Hadjar and Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad, who had enjoyed a stellar start of his own.

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, Australian GP 2026 | Scuderia Ferrari

And while Ferrari kept Russell and the recovering Kimi Antonelli honest, the decision not to pit under two separate virtual safety car periods, unlike much of the field, ultimately left the Mercedes duo untroubled in front.

Hamilton finds the positives

It was Leclerc who completed the podium despite strong late pace from Hamilton, who rapidly closed in during the dying stages of the 58-lap event.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Australian GP 2026, Podium — Charles Leclerc finished third for Ferrari on Sunday. | Scuderia Ferrari

Despite the disappointment of narrowly missing out on a first grand prix podium since his switch to Ferrari, the seven-time world champion took great satisfaction in what was by far his strongest weekend since 2024.

"All weekend I've been really, really strong," Hamilton told Sky Sports UK. "Qualifying really didn't show the true pace. I think we had a few problems through qualifying, which meant that I was further back than I should have been.

"Anyways, got into today, of course, none of us really knew what the true case was going to be, but I felt great from the get go, and was obviously closing a gap right at the end to Charles. "A couple more laps, I think I would have had Charles, so maybe one or two more laps. So there's lots and lots of positives to take, we've got a lot of work to do to catch Mercedes, but it's not impossible.

"So really, thank you to everyone back at the factory, really, really proud of the work we got. But we still have to push and keep digging deep."

Mercedes had entered the weekend as the favorite for the constructors' title and only underlined those feelings with a qualifying romp before the 1-2 finish at Albert Park on Sunday.

Race start, 2026 Australian GP — Scuderia Ferrari

But asked if Ferrari could turn around fortunes with Mercedes over the season, Hamilton replied: "I do believe we can close the gap. I think it's not going to be easy. We've got a lot of work to do to close it, because it's quite significant, particularly on a single lap.

"We need to find out whether it's power or battery power, but the car is just as quick through the corners. So we just got to keep pushing."