Lewis Hamilton: Ferrari driver tells himself to ‘step it up’ at Hungarian GP after crash at Spa-Francorchamps weekend | F1 News
Lewis Hamilton says he needs to “step up” this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix after admitting he “can’t” repeat the crash that disrupted his weekend in Belgium amid Ferrari’s competitive form.
Hamilton finished fourth last Sunday at Spa-Francorchamps but felt he could have challenged for the win had he crashed at the end of Saturday’s final practice in a crash that required several parts of his car to be replaced before qualifying.
Team-mate Charles Leclerc qualified and finished ahead of Hamilton for the second consecutive Monegasque race, while he gained race time with a fortunately timed Virtual Safety Car, finishing two seconds behind race winner Kimi Antonelli, the championship leader.
With Ferrari doing better than expected against Mercedes at the high-speed circuit of Silverstone, where Leclerc won, and now Spa, the Scuderia are tipped to run more at the Hungaroring this weekend, a circuit that will play more into the corners of their car.
Asked by Sky Sports F1 whether he is confident he can gather momentum throughout the season, Hamilton said: “I think so. This weekend was unfortunate and Silverstone [was] again.
“It’s great to see how we’re working and improving the car all the time. I think there’s a lot more to come to try to close that gap.
“But being here and having the speed we did as a team is very motivating for us.
“There is still a long way to go.
“I can’t afford weekends like this in terms of my work [on Saturday] so I’m going to step it up a notch next week.”
Please use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Karun Chandhok was on SkyPad to analyze whether Lewis Hamilton should have been handed a five-second penalty for his collision with George Russell on the opening lap.
Despite finishing the field for just second in six races, Hamilton moved back ahead of George Russell for second place in the Drivers’ Championship after his former teammates made contact with the Mercedes driver on the opening lap.
Hamilton, who received a five-second penalty from stewards for the incident, is 45 points behind Antonelli.
The seven-time world champion has won a record eight times in Hungary, with the circuit being his latest Grand Prix venue in 2023.
Please use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Ted Kravitz explains why he thinks Ferrari has the best chance of challenging Mercedes at the Hungarian Grand Prix
Leclerc is motivated but ‘not yet’ at the level he wants to be
The races at Silverstone and Spa also confirmed that it is time for a return to form for Leclerc, who has been struggling to adapt his driving style to the demands of the 2026 cars and endured some tough results.
Leclerc remains wary of suggestions and has made absolute progress but is encouraged by his recent rate of improvement.
“I’m confident when I say I’ve taken a step forward. Even if I’m at the level I want to be at, for now,” said Leclerc.
“There are still things in the car that I have to drive, I can’t drive naturally, that makes me late in other parts of the race.
Please use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Highlights of the 2026 Belgian Grand Prix
“So, there are still things I have to work on to be better. But it was definitely a step forward, and for that I’m happy.
“I will continue with the one race method because with these cars it is very difficult to be sure that if one race weekend goes well, the other will go well because it depends on such small details.
“With what you’re doing with your driving, it’s never a given that you get the same transmission from one step to the next, and that’s probably what’s annoying about these cars.”
Formula 1 heads to Budapest for the Hungarian Grand Prix with every session live on Sky Sports F1 from this Friday. Stream Sky Sports NOW – no contract, cancel anytime
