Lewis Hamilton says his first win for Ferrari ‘couldn’t have been any closer’ after finishing second in the championship with a strong Monaco display. F1 News

Lewis Hamilton says he “didn’t come close” to a first grand prix win for Ferrari in his best form since joining the Italian team.

The seven-time world champion endured a disappointing debut campaign with Ferrari after joining from Mercedes ahead of the 2025 season, but has made a more encouraging start to his second campaign in red.

After claiming his first Grand Prix podium for Ferrari in China in March, Hamilton added second places in Canada and Monaco in the last two rounds.

The results put the 41-year-old second in the drivers’ championship, albeit 66 points behind Kimi Antonelli, who has won each of the last five races for Mercedes.

Asked after Sunday’s race in Monaco how close he felt to a first win for Ferrari, Hamilton, who holds F1’s all-time record with 105 wins, replied: “I mean, it can’t be close.

“But it’s still 66 points. I can’t believe I’m second in the championship and I’m really happy and grateful for that.”

‘I will do my best to chase Antonelli’

Antonelli succeeded Hamilton at Mercedes last year and, after a challenging rookie campaign, has exceeded all expectations by dominating the early stages of the 2026 season.

The 19-year-old Italian is thriving in the system that helped Hamilton to six of his seven titles, with Antonelli working under Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff and succeeding former Briton race engineer Peter Bonnington.

Hamilton said: “He (Antonelli) is doing a fantastic job. He’s got an amazing team around him with Bono, Toto and the whole team. And I’m really happy to see them doing what they do best.

“It encourages me to want to be level, and I think encourages everyone who wants to be level. And he’s only 19, so imagine what the future holds for him.

“But I’m going to do my best to chase him for the rest of the year. And like I said, really, it’s a real privilege to witness, to be on stage with the two youngest guys here. Reminds me a lot of when I was back in 2007.”

‘I have to remind people who I am’

Hamilton’s disappointing 2025 campaign, during which he appeared to have lost confidence, led to speculation about how long he would stay in the sport.

He erased any short-term doubts about his future in Canada last month when he said he wanted to stay for years amid people “trying to get him to retire.”

After backing up second in Montreal with the same result in Monaco, a track where he had failed to claim a podium in his previous five appearances, Hamilton felt he had made another statement.

He said: “To be two seconds, especially I think with a good race in Montreal, and everybody was like, ‘Yeah, but he’s fast there’.”

“I think I’m in a period where I have to remind people who I am, and I think last year my fans asked me to remind them who I am, and now I have to show up every weekend and try to do that.

“I think it’s great to see that it’s like a rekindled love within the team, and I think their belief in me and the decision to hire me and everything. So, I’m very happy.”

‘The vasseur changed that I was begging’

Hamilton reserved special praise for Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur as he reiterated his belief that the changes he demanded in his first year with the team are now paying off.

“I couldn’t have done it without this team, without our reliability and with Fred,” added Hamilton.

“Fred has been great in supporting me. I think last year was really hard for both of us and (I) was begging him to make some changes, and he did and he did, and now I’m seeing the results and I’m finally able to provide for them.

“I think it’s still very early in the season, so we just have to keep chasing. It’s actually easier to chase than to defend, I would say, in life.

“And so, even though these guys are very fast and they’re an amazing team, we’re going to keep pushing, keep chasing and I have no doubt we’re going to get there.”

Formula 1 heads to Spain live for the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix from this Friday, with live coverage on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports now – no contract, cancel anytime