Ferrari Closes the Gap as Hamilton Moves to Within 22 Points of Russell
There was a time during this 2026 Formula 1 season when it looked as though the battle inside Mercedes might be almost entirely about George Russell and Kimi Antonelli.
Lewis Hamilton has other ideas.
After a chaotic, rain-affected Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia at Sepang, Hamilton has strengthened his position in third in the Drivers’ Championship, moving to 214 points and closing to within 22 points of Mercedes team-mate George Russell, who remains on 236.
More importantly for Ferrari, the team finally took another meaningful bite out of Mercedes’ enormous advantage in the Constructors’ Championship.
Hamilton finished third and Charles Leclerc fourth, giving Ferrari 27 points from Sepang. Mercedes managed just 18, courtesy of Antonelli’s second-place finish, while Russell retired late from third.
The result leaves Mercedes on 556 points and Ferrari on 405, a gap of 151 points.
It is still a substantial advantage.
But Ferrari gained nine points on Mercedes in one afternoon, and in a championship that has repeatedly shown how quickly fortunes can change, that matters.
Hamilton Is Now Only 22 Points Behind Russell
Hamilton’s 2026 campaign has hardly followed the script many expected when he joined Ferrari.
There have been podiums, a victory in Barcelona, difficult weekends, penalties, strategy frustrations and races where Ferrari simply hasn’t looked capable of fighting Mercedes consistently.
Sepang was different.
Hamilton started second but, like Leclerc, Ferrari’s decision to begin on slick tyres left both cars badly exposed when the wet conditions arrived. Both Ferrari drivers dropped dramatically down the order before beginning their recovery.
Hamilton eventually climbed all the way back to third.
That earned him 15 points, taking his championship total to 214.
Russell, meanwhile, was running in podium contention before his Mercedes stopped on the start-finish straight with just five laps remaining. He scored nothing.
The consequence is significant:
– Kimi Antonelli — 320
– George Russell — 236
– Lewis Hamilton — 214
– Charles Leclerc — 191
– Lando Norris — 188
– Max Verstappen — 188
Hamilton is now just 22 points behind Russell and 106 points behind championship leader Antonelli.
That 22-point gap suddenly makes the internal Mercedes battle considerably more interesting.
Antonelli Still Has the Championship Under Control
It would be wrong to suggest Hamilton is suddenly fighting for the World Championship.
Antonelli still has a very healthy advantage.
The young Mercedes driver finished second at Sepang and collected another 18 points, extending his lead over Russell to 84 points.
That is the real story at the top of the championship.
Antonelli has 320.
Russell has 236.
Hamilton has 214.
The Ferrari driver has therefore moved closer to Russell, but Antonelli remains more than 100 points ahead of Hamilton.
For Ferrari, however, Hamilton’s position is becoming increasingly important.
If the Scuderia cannot realistically challenge Antonelli for the Drivers’ Championship, taking second and third in the standings would still represent a significant achievement — particularly after the difficult stretches Ferrari has endured this season.
And with Leclerc now on 191, Ferrari has both of its drivers sitting fourth and third.
Ferrari’s 27 Points Matter
The Constructors’ Championship remains much more difficult.
Mercedes has 556 points.
Ferrari has 405.
That is a 151-point deficit.
But look at what happened at Sepang.
Ferrari:
Hamilton — 15
Leclerc — 12
Total — 27
Mercedes:
Antonelli — 18
Russell — 0
Total — 18
Ferrari therefore gained nine points on Mercedes in a single race.
That isn’t enough to transform the championship overnight, but it is exactly the kind of weekend Ferrari needs if it wants to make the closing stages interesting.
The problem is consistency.
Ferrari cannot afford to gain nine points on Mercedes once and then lose 20 or 30 at the next race.
It needs both cars finishing near the front, while Mercedes needs to have more weekends like Sepang — where one car scores heavily and the other fails to finish.
Russell’s Retirement Changes the Conversation
Russell’s retirement was particularly painful because the Mercedes driver had been in position to finish on the podium.
Instead, a power-unit failure ended his race during the closing Safety Car period. Reuters reported that Russell had been running third when the failure struck with five laps remaining.
The championship consequence is obvious.
Had Russell finished third, he would have added 15 points.
Instead, he left Malaysia with zero.
That transformed what had been a 66-point deficit to Antonelli into an 84-point deficit.
And it gave Hamilton an opportunity to close the gap to his former Mercedes team-mate.
Leclerc Is Not Out of the Picture Either
While Hamilton received most of the attention after recovering from the back of the field to finish third, Leclerc quietly produced an equally important result.
He finished fourth and added 12 points, moving his championship total to 191.
That puts him just three points behind Verstappen and Norris, who are both on 188.
So Ferrari now has two drivers occupying third and fourth in the championship.
That is a much healthier position than the team might have expected after some of the season’s more difficult weekends.
And considering where both Ferrari cars were after the wet opening stages at Sepang, fourth for Leclerc represents another recovery drive rather than a straightforward result.
The Other Story: Liam Lawson and Aston Martin
Sepang also produced some impressive performances outside the leading teams.
Liam Lawson brought Racing Bulls home in seventh, collecting six points and taking his championship total to 65.
Oscar Piastri finished sixth for McLaren, while Fernando Alonso delivered a morale-boosting eighth for Aston Martin. Alonso’s result moved him to seven points for the season.
Lando Norris, meanwhile, finished ninth after his late incident behind the Safety Car.
It was a strange race in almost every respect, but it also showed how quickly the order can change when weather, tyre choice, reliability and strategy all enter the equation.
Ferrari Still Has a Mountain to Climb
This is where perspective matters.
Ferrari has closed the Constructors’ Championship gap from 160 points to 151.
That is progress.
But 151 points is still a massive deficit.
Mercedes doesn’t need to beat Ferrari every weekend. It simply needs to manage the advantage it already has.
Ferrari, on the other hand, needs to attack.
It needs Hamilton and Leclerc scoring heavily together.
It needs Mercedes to have more reliability problems.
And it needs to convert weekends like Sepang into a pattern rather than an exception.
The encouraging part is that Ferrari has demonstrated it can recover when things go wrong.
The question is whether it can start producing weekends where things go right from the beginning.
The Ferrari Question Has Changed
Earlier in the season, the question surrounding Ferrari was whether the team could even stay within touching distance of Mercedes.
Now, after Sepang, there are two separate questions.
Can Hamilton catch Russell?
And can Ferrari realistically reduce a 151-point Constructors’ deficit?
The first is suddenly very interesting.
Hamilton is only 22 points away from Russell with the season still alive.
The second remains a much bigger challenge.
But Formula 1 has a funny way of turning impossible-looking deficits into pressure situations when reliability starts playing a role.
Sepang gave Ferrari something it desperately needed: momentum.
Hamilton has 214 points.
Leclerc has 191.
Ferrari has 405.
Mercedes has 556.
The gap is still enormous.
But for the first time in a while, Ferrari isn’t simply chasing Mercedes.
It’s taking points away from them.
