Five years of frustration, false dawns and uncompetitive machinery could finally be coming to an end.
Lewis Hamilton has not been a genuine title contender since that fateful night in Abu Dhabi in 2021, when a record-breaking eighth F1 drivers' championship slipped through his fingers in the most controversial of circumstances.
In the seasons that have followed, the Briton has not had the car beneath him to mount a serious challenge, first enduring Mercedes' struggles with the ground-effect regulations and then navigating a difficult adaptation to life at Ferrari in 2025.
But 2026 has changed the picture entirely.
Sitting second in the drivers' standings on 169 points after 11 rounds, Hamilton trails championship leader Kimi Antonelli by 50 points with 11 or 12 weekends still to run. He has scored points in every single grand prix this season, never finishing lower than sixth, and added a long-awaited victory in Barcelona to go with four further podiums.
And with Ferrari's SF-26 proving a competitive package under the new regulations, the 41-year-old finds himself back in a position he has not occupied for half a decade: a realistic title fight.
With the season resuming at Zandvoort on 23 August, RacingNews365 posed the question to its readers: is Hamilton a genuine 2026 title contender?
And an overwhelming majority believe the seven-time F1 drivers' champion is firmly in the fight for that elusive eighth crown, vanquishing the demon of the past few years, with only a small fraction suggesting Antonelli, who has been brilliant with six wins from 11 rounds, already has the championship sewn up.
Check out the full results below from the latest poll by RacingNews365!
Originally published by RacingNews365 —
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