Former IndyCar driver and F1 TV analyst James Hinchcliffe has written off Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari’s 2026 championship hopes after the Briton’s retirement at the Spanish Grand Prix.
The seven-time champion suffered a brake failure at the new Madring circuit and now sits 101 points behind leader Kimi Antonelli, with George Russell 20 points ahead of him in second.
Ferrari remains second in the constructors’ championship but trails Mercedes by 145 points.
On the F1 Nation podcast, Hinchcliffe confirmed the duo are no longer in the fight when asked directly.
“Yes, certainly,” he said. “They’ll have moments and maybe a couple of wins left, but you’re looking at over three races’ worth of points behind—four for Lewis. That’s too much to overcome.”
Hinchcliffe believes Ferrari should now focus entirely on 2027.
“It’s done. It’s over. Now it’s about working on ’27,” he added. “They can walk into each weekend without the weight of a championship battle, so they might be a little more adventurous with setups and development. But without testing, simulators only go so far, and your only real car time is on race weekends—which isn’t great for taking risks.”
“When you’re out of the fight, those race weekends basically become test sessions.”
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Photo by: Andy Hone/ LAT Images via Getty Images
