Lewis Hamilton confident Ferrari ‘in the fight’ with Mercedes for 2026 F1 championship
Lewis Hamilton has declared he is fired-up and optimistic in his belief that Ferrari will be in the world championship fight with Mercedes after the new Formula One season opened in Australia on Sunday.The race in Melbourne was won by Mercedes’ George Russell, with his teammate Kimi Antonelli in second but Ferrari claimed third and fourth for Charles Leclerc and Hamilton.Both drivers executed superb starts to make up places to first and third respectively and for the opening 12 laps were very much in the fight with Russell at the front of the field.Ultimately they were not in the mix for the win after Mercedes took advantage of a virtual safety car to take a cheap pitstop while Ferrari chose not to do so.Nonetheless the Ferrari did show impressive pace and a reinvigorated Hamilton maintained he felt the they could yet catch the leaders.
“The team did a great job overall,” he said.“There are lots of positives to take.A couple of more laps and I would have had Charles, so I know we can be fighting for podiums.We’re not as fast as Mercedes but we’re right in the fight.We’ve got a lot of work to do to catch them but it’s not impossible.
”After he endured a trying debut year with Ferrari Hamilton had closed 2025 somewhat jaded and disconsolate, having described it as a “nightmare” season in which he failed to score a podium for the first time in his career,Having reset over the winter Hamilton returned eager to enjoy the fray again with the cars under the new regulations much more to his liking,In Melbourne they opened well and the seven-time champion also acknowledged that the team would analyse their strategic decision-making process,“I feel great,” he said,“We got a third and fourth and ultimately Mercedes were quicker than us.
We need to see if stopping would have been better.I definitely thought we should have come in or, at least one of us, to cover the Mercedes.We will look to see what we can do better.”Mercedes had expected to be the class of the field and duly did have the advantage when they were running in clean air but Hamilton’s quickest 10 laps were on a par with Antonelli and the Mercedes team principal, Toto Wolff, confirmed the threat Ferrari posed.“It was a three-way fight at a certain stage between the two Ferraris and George, and eventually Kimi caught up,” Wolff said.
“The race pace at the end was very encouraging from our side, but at the beginning, there was nothing between Ferrari and Mercedes.For me, the prevailing feeling is now we have a fight on our hands with Ferrari.”The Ferrari team principal, Fred Vasseur, also echoed Hamilton’s feelings that his team could yet bridge the gap to Mercedes.“It’s good to have two cars fighting at the top,” he said.“We know that we have a very long list of improvements but it’s good for us.
The result of the season will be based on the capacity that we have to develop, to bring upgrades, to produce quickly,“This will be key for the season for everybody on the grid,I prefer to start the season in a good shape than in a bad shape, but it’s still a long way to go,”After local hero Oscar Piastri suffered heartbreak in front of his home crowd in Melbourne when the Australian crashed out in the formation lap to the grid, his team principal, Andrea Stella, backed his man to recover strongly,Piastri was making his way to the grid 40 minutes before the off when he rode the kerb at turn four and was spun into the wall, severely damaging his car.
Cold tyres and lack of grip on the kerb were factors as was an unexpected surge in power after a gear shift which can be a factor of the way the new cars behave.Piastri held his hands up for the incident and Stella said he would bounce back at the next round in China this weekend.“Very unfortunate,” he said.“Definitely a tough moment for him in front of the Australian crowd.“Oscar [is] very tough guy mentally.
He will use all this to get even more concentrated and determined starting from China.We will make sure that we all face this in a united way.We are a team in any situation that may involve any of our team.”
From The Bride! to Harry Styles: your complete entertainment guide to the week ahead
Maggie Gyllenhaal gives us a new take on The Bride of Frankenstein, and the stadium-conquering pop prince is back with a new albumThe Bride!Out now Maggie Gyllenhaal directs this Chicago-set gothic romance starring Jessie Buckley and Christian Bale. Per James Whale’s 1935 classic Bride of Frankenstein, on which it is loosely based, a lonely monster wants a mate and taps up a scientist, Dr Euphronious (Annette Bening), to create her.Peaky Blinders: The Immortal ManOut now As The Rachel was to women who watched Friends in the 90s, so the Peaky Blinders mop chop was to male fans. Will the return of the Birmingham gang drama in feature film form prompt another wave of ill-advised dos? Only time will tell. Just remember, Cillian Murphy looking amazing with that haircut doesn’t mean it’s a good idea for absolutely everyone
Stephen Colbert on Kristi Noem: ‘A domestic terrorist who deserves to go to Gitmo’
On Thursday night, late night-hosts celebrated Kristi Noem’s firing, criticized Maga’s handling of the war in Iran and raised an eyebrow to Robert F Kennedy Jr taking issue with sugary Starbucks drinks.Stephen Colbert immediately brought up Kristi Noem’s firing in his monologue, saying that the former homeland secretary brought it on herself by “standing too close to that gravel pit”.The host then turned serious. “Before we get any more information about what happened, I just want to say with absolute certainty: she is a domestic terrorist who deserves to go to Gitmo.”On Truth Social, Donald Trump announced that Noem would be moved to a new role as “special envoy for the Shield of the Americas, our new security initiative in the western hemisphere”
Stephen Colbert on Republican double-speak for war in Iran: ‘A war that got a thesaurus for Christmas’
Late-night hosts unpacked the Orwellian double-speak of congressional Republicans trying to justify the Trump administration’s military strikes in Iran.“Folks, I really didn’t want to start the monologue by talking about the war, but in honor of this administration, I went into this without a plan,” said Stephen Colbert on Wednesday, five days after the US military, in conjunction with Israel, bombed Iran and killed its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.“I say ‘war’,” he continued, “because it sure looks like a war, and Trump keeps calling it a war, but Congress never declared it a war, and Maga was promised no new wars, so the White House sent out a list of talking points to all the congressional Republicans telling them in no uncertain terms that if a reporter asked ‘Can you promise the American people this will not be a long-drawn out war?’, the answer to give is ‘These are targeted, major combat operations.’”“So … it’s worse than a war,” said Colbert. “It’s a war that got a thesaurus for Christmas
Nothing beats the smell of oil and steam | Brief letters
Re your article (T rex breath and Queen Elizabeth’s car: scientists creating ‘time machine for the nose’, 28 February), one of the great attractions about working steam museums is the whole sensory experience, including the smell of hot oil and steam, which is often mentioned by visitors. Non-working steam engines are, by comparison, lifeless, however well they are polished.John Freeman Trustee, Claymills Victorian Pumping Station My tried and trusted method of getting back to sleep (Letters, 25 February) involves me making the mental journey from my home in Kent to Lewis, including stocking up with groceries in Stornoway. I’m looking forward to making the trip for real in November. Out the door, turn right, right again…Ralph JonesRochester, Kent My twin sister and I shared a bed from the early 1950s
Seth Meyers on Trump spilling military secrets: ‘He’s so excited to bomb people, he can’t help himself’
Late-night hosts criticized Donald Trump’s attacks on Iran, the problem with advising Americans to evacuate the Middle East and the closure of many college students’ favorite pizza takeout spot.Seth Meyers discussed a recent Trump interview where the president described the Iran bombings as “knocking the crap” out of the country, adding: “We haven’t even started hitting them hard. The big wave hasn’t even happened, the big one is coming soon.”“Man, the commander in chief is supposed to be able to keep military secrets,” Meyers laughed. “He’s so excited to bomb people, he can’t help himself
Actor reaches settlement with Old Vic theatre over Kevin Spacey assault claims
An actor who alleged that he was sexually assaulted by Kevin Spacey has reached a settlement with the Old Vic theatre.Ruari Cannon, who waived his right to anonymity, was an actor at the Old Vic during Spacey’s tenure as artistic director.He claimed that Spacey assaulted him at a theatre after-party at the Savoy hotel and at the Old Vic’s theatre bar on a separate occasion. Spacey has denied the allegations.In a statement, the Old Vic said: “Ruari Cannon and the Old Vic have reached a mutually agreed out-of-court settlement, the precise terms of which are confidential
Alba party to wind up and not contest Scottish election
Private jet used for Nigel Farage Chagos stunt linked to Reform mega-donor
It’s a crowded field for worst Tory leader | Brief letters
Starmer speaks with Trump after president criticises lack of UK support for Iran strikes
Labour accuses Badenoch of scoring ‘cheap political points’ over Iran strikes
‘Like fleeing to Southampton’: was Mandelson escape ‘plot’ just a joke?