Toto Wolff believes Lewis Hamilton is still “absolutely” a title contender this season after his victory in Barcelona.
Kimi Antonelli retired only a few laps from the end on Sunday after a power unit issue, with Hamilton already in the lead and in the process of taking his first race victory as a Ferrari driver.
Lewis Hamilton title fight ‘absolutely’ possible – Toto Wolff
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The young Italian still holds a healthy lead at the top of the standings, sitting 41 points ahead of Hamilton after his DNF on Sunday, though the seven-time world champion remains in second place in the championship.
Hamilton’s form has improved overall in 2026, too, with his victory coming off the back of second-place finishes in Canada and Monaco and having not finished outside the top six this season.
Having been a part of the fabric of Mercedes for so long, Wolff knows as well as anyone how Hamilton operates in a title battle.
While admitting battling someone he knows so well would not be his preference, this is also because he has seen first-hand that, once he has momentum, it’s tough to make him falter.
“I’d rather not fight with him for the title, because I know what he’s capable of,” Wolff told PlanetF1.com and others.
“If he smells blood, he goes.
“I’ve seen it many years where suddenly the train, the Lewis Hamilton train, started to go, and then it’s very difficult to stop it.”
While Antonelli’s lead at the top of the standings is still more than a race win’s worth of points, there are 15 rounds still to be run this season.
With that, and the potential ebb and flow of the season, the Mercedes team principal reiterated the need for the team to keep up its rate of development, and execute every part of the race weekend properly.
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“Yes, absolutely,” he replied when asked if he sees Hamilton as a title contender.
“We are so early this season again. I don’t know what it is, 40 points [ahead], you see a DNF, lost you 25 points, and it’s wide open.
“That’s why we can’t afford to not finish, and we need to just keep putting performance on the car, on the power unit, not make mistakes, be clever with the strategy, and stay absolutely on it.”
Additional reporting by Thomas Maher
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