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Lewis Hamilton Hopes to Close Ferrari Deficit at Belgian GP

2026-07-17 · Lewis Hamilton · Player Focus

Lewis Hamilton was seven tenths behind Friday pace-setter Kimi Antonelli in the second practice session, but remains hopeful that Ferrari can close the deficit to Mercedes at the Belgian Grand Prix.

What happened?

Hamilton finished little more than a tenth behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen in the first practice session, but was a concerning seven tenths down on Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli in the second session. Antonelli leads his Mercedes team-mate George Russell by 25 points at the top of the standings, with Hamilton seven points further back in third.

Why it matters for Lewis Hamilton

Hamilton has been in a fine run of form with four podiums in his last five races, but the Italian team's deficit in Friday practice was "bigger than anticipated". The Brit highlighted the middle sector as the part of the track in which Ferrari needed to focus on finding more speed.

What comes next?

Hamilton is optimistic that Ferrari can close the gap to Mercedes at the Belgian Grand Prix, despite the deficit being 'bigger than anticipated'. "The others look really strong," Hamilton added. "Red Bull look really strong. Mercedes picked up a lot of pace in the (second) session. McLaren were looking good as well. So, I really don't know. As I said, the car feels pretty decent but we're lacking a little bit in the middle sector for some reason."

Hamilton was close to the pace in first practice as he finished little more than a tenth behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen, but was a concerning seven tenths down on Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli when the world championship leader topped the second session. Hamilton, who has been in a fine run of form with four podiums in his last five races, could at least take solace from finishing ahead of his team-mate Charles Leclerc in both sessions.

Hamilton said: "Pretty good day in general, positive, made steps forward, relatively clean sessions. We made a couple of changes into P2. The gap seems a bit bigger today, at least in P2, than anticipated but hopefully we can try to close that tomorrow. But overall I generally feel good."

While Antonelli's pace came as little surprise, the fact that the Italian's nearest challenger in second practice was McLaren's Lando Norris was unexpected, while Verstappen was also once more ahead of Hamilton. The Brit highlighted the middle sector as the part of the track in which Ferrari needed to focus on finding more speed.

"Red Bull look really strong," Hamilton added. "Mercedes picked up a lot of pace in the (second) session. McLaren were looking good as well. So, I really don't know. As I said, the car feels pretty decent but we're lacking a little bit in the middle sector for some reason."

The Belgian Grand Prix is set to take place on 19-21 July 2026 at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit.

Verstappen 'not sure' how much more pace is in car

Verstappen came flying out of the blocks on Friday as he topped first practice but had to settle for third in second practice and was nearly half a second off the pace. Red Bull are no longer running their rotating 'macarena' rear wing after two accidents for Verstappen in Austria and Silverstone but it seems to have made little impact on their pace.

Verstappen says the "balance was there straight away" and suggested Red Bull are close to maximising their package at Spa-Francorchamps. "We just focus on ourselves. Honestly, I cannot be disappointed. It's been a good day for us," he said.

"I'm not sure how much more there is in there compared to the others but feeling wise it's been alright. Second practice you see more what the real gap is, but hopefully we can eek out of that a bit towards qualifying."

The Belgian Grand Prix is set to take place on 19-21 July 2026 at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit.

Norris: We can be closer compared to S

Norris was the nearest challenger to Antonelli in second practice, finishing 0.7 seconds behind the Mercedes driver. The McLaren driver was optimistic about his team's chances, saying: "We can be closer compared to some of the other teams, but we still have a lot of work to do."

The Belgian Grand Prix is set to take place on 19-21 July 2026 at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit.

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