Ferrari has been urged to make a decisive call and begin prioritizing Lewis Hamilton if the Italian team genuinely believes it can challenge for the 2026 Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship.
The suggestion comes from former Ferrari engineer Rob Smedley, who believes Ferrari may need to concentrate its efforts behind Hamilton as the title battle enters a crucial phase.
Hamilton currently sits third in the championship on 183 points, level with Mercedes driver George Russell but behind on countback. Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli leads the standings with 242 points, meaning Hamilton is 59 points adrift of the championship leader after the Dutch Grand Prix.
With Ferrari’s home race at Monza approaching, the question is no longer simply whether Hamilton can fight for the title. It is whether Ferrari is prepared to organize its resources around its strongest championship candidate.
WHY FERRARI IS FACING A DIFFICULT DECISION
Ferrari’s situation is complicated by the fact that Charles Leclerc is still mathematically within reach of the championship lead.
Leclerc currently has 155 points, only 28 behind Hamilton. That makes an immediate switch to an outright number-one-driver policy politically and competitively difficult.
However, championship mathematics can change rapidly in Formula 1.
Ferrari does not necessarily need to officially declare Hamilton its number-one driver. Instead, the team could begin making more subtle decisions when both drivers are competing for the same positions.
Pit-stop timing, strategic priorities, tyre allocation, undercut opportunities and communication could all become increasingly important.
That is where Smedley’s argument becomes particularly interesting.
If Ferrari believes Hamilton has the better chance of catching Antonelli, continuing to treat both drivers completely equally could ultimately hurt the team’s title ambitions.
HAMILTON HAS ALREADY SHOWN CHAMPIONSHIP-WINNING PACE
Hamilton’s 2026 campaign has been considerably stronger than his difficult first season with Ferrari.
The seven-time world champion secured his first Ferrari victory at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix and subsequently continued collecting strong results. His 2026 record includes podium finishes in China, Canada, Monaco and Great Britain, alongside his Barcelona victory.
That improvement matters because Ferrari initially needed time to understand how Hamilton and the SF-26 could work together.
By the middle of the season, the relationship between driver and team appeared significantly stronger, with Hamilton openly discussing Ferrari’s development direction and the changes needed to improve the team’s performance.
The bigger issue now is consistency.
A championship challenge cannot be built around occasional victories. Ferrari needs Hamilton regularly finishing ahead of Antonelli, while simultaneously preventing Mercedes from maximizing points with both of its drivers.
THE ZANDVOORT CONTROVERSY MAKES THE ARGUMENT STRONGER
The Dutch Grand Prix provided perhaps the clearest example of why Ferrari’s decision-making could become so important.
Hamilton finished fourth at Zandvoort, while Leclerc finished fifth. Hamilton subsequently expressed frustration over Ferrari’s strategy after being held behind his teammate during a crucial phase of the race. He believed the delay potentially cost him a podium finish.
The contrast with Mercedes was striking.
Mercedes used team orders to switch George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, allowing the faster championship contender to move ahead. Antonelli ultimately finished second while Russell took third. The result helped Antonelli extend his championship advantage.
Ferrari, meanwhile, left points on the table.
That difference may become increasingly significant as the championship approaches its final rounds.
FERRARI CANNOT AFFORD TO GIVE AWAY POINTS
The biggest danger for Ferrari is not necessarily having two competitive drivers.
It is failing to maximize the points available to them.
Hamilton and Leclerc currently occupy third and fifth in the championship. Collectively, they have scored 338 points. Yet Antonelli alone has 242.
This illustrates how powerful Mercedes’ current driver combination has become.
Even if Hamilton manages to close the gap to Antonelli, Mercedes can still score heavily through Russell. Ferrari therefore needs to find ways to convert its two-car competitiveness into a genuine championship advantage.
That could mean strategic cooperation between Hamilton and Leclerc, rather than simply sacrificing one driver’s season.
LECLERC WILL NOT SIMPLY DISAPPEAR FROM THE TITLE FIGHT
Any decision to prioritize Hamilton would have to be handled carefully.
Leclerc is only 28 points behind his teammate, and Ferrari would risk creating unnecessary tension if it moved too aggressively. He has also demonstrated the pace required to challenge Hamilton on individual weekends.
The ideal solution may therefore be conditional team orders.
Ferrari could allow both drivers to race normally until one driver establishes a clear championship advantage. Once that happens, the team could increasingly support the driver with the stronger mathematical chance.
That would be easier to justify than announcing Hamilton as Ferrari’s undisputed number one immediately.
HAMILTON’S EXPERIENCE COULD BECOME A MAJOR ADVANTAGE
There is another reason Ferrari may eventually lean toward Hamilton: experience.
Hamilton has already competed in numerous championship battles and understands the pressure associated with managing a title campaign over an entire season.
Antonelli, by contrast, is experiencing a championship fight at this level for the first time.
The Italian has been exceptional in 2026 and currently leads the championship by 59 points.
But a 59-point advantage is not necessarily decisive with a significant portion of the season still remaining.
Hamilton knows how to manage momentum, tyre conservation, qualifying pressure, media attention and championship calculations. If Ferrari gives him a car capable of consistently fighting at the front, his experience could become increasingly valuable.
MONZA COULD BE A TURNING POINT
Ferrari’s next major opportunity comes at Monza.
The Italian Grand Prix is arguably the most emotionally significant race on Ferrari’s calendar, and Hamilton’s arrival at the team has added another layer of global attention to the event.
More importantly, Monza could provide an indication of whether Ferrari has genuinely closed the performance gap to Mercedes.
If Hamilton qualifies strongly, fights for victory and significantly reduces Antonelli’s championship advantage, Ferrari may have a stronger argument for putting greater strategic emphasis on him.
If Leclerc is clearly faster, however, the situation becomes considerably more complicated.
WHAT FERRARI SHOULD DO
In my view, Ferrari should not immediately impose a rigid number-one-driver policy.
Instead, it should establish clear championship-based rules.
If Hamilton is ahead of Leclerc and significantly closer to Antonelli in the standings, Ferrari should prioritize Hamilton whenever the two drivers encounter strategic situations where cooperation is required.
If Leclerc closes the gap or overtakes Hamilton, the policy should be reassessed.
This approach would protect Ferrari from creating unnecessary internal conflict while ensuring the team does not lose championship points simply because it refuses to make difficult decisions.
Formula 1 championships are often won through tiny margins. A poorly timed pit stop, an unnecessary battle between teammates or a missed opportunity to use team orders can ultimately be worth more than a single race victory.
THE BIGGER BATTLE IS FERRARI VS MERCEDES
The championship picture makes the situation even more intriguing.
Mercedes currently has Antonelli leading with 242 points and Russell on 183, while Ferrari has Hamilton on 183 and Leclerc on 155.
That means Mercedes has effectively created a championship structure in which both drivers can contribute to the team’s dominance while Antonelli receives support when circumstances demand it.
Ferrari now has to decide whether it is willing to adopt a similarly ruthless approach.
The Dutch Grand Prix demonstrated how quickly team strategy can influence the championship. Mercedes’ decision to manage its drivers produced a podium for both cars, while Ferrari’s approach contributed to Hamilton and Leclerc finishing behind them.
MY PREDICTION FOR HAMILTON AND FERRARI
I expect Ferrari to become more strategically aggressive as the season progresses.
That does not necessarily mean Hamilton will receive preferential treatment at every race. Instead, I expect the team to gradually introduce clearer championship priorities if the gap between Hamilton and Leclerc widens.
The critical factor will be Monza and the races immediately afterward.
If Hamilton begins consistently finishing ahead of Leclerc and cuts deeply into Antonelli’s advantage, Ferrari will have little reason to continue treating the championship as an entirely open internal contest.
If Hamilton struggles while Leclerc finds another level of performance, Ferrari will have to reconsider.
For now, however, Hamilton remains Ferrari’s strongest championship candidate based on the current standings, and the pressure on the team to maximize his opportunities is only going to increase.
FERRARI’S TITLE WINDOW IS STILL OPEN
Lewis Hamilton’s eighth world championship is becoming increasingly difficult, but it is far from an impossible scenario.
He has 183 points, the same total as Russell, while Antonelli leads with 242.
The gap is substantial, but Formula 1 championships can change dramatically when momentum shifts.
Ferrari has already demonstrated that it can produce a car capable of winning races, with Hamilton’s Barcelona victory proving the potential is there.
Now the team must turn that potential into consistency.
If Ferrari genuinely believes Hamilton can bring the Drivers’ Championship back to Maranello, it may soon have to make the uncomfortable decisions that championship-winning teams are famous for.
