Lewis Hamilton has urged his Ferrari team to “apply the pressure” on Mercedes and F1 championship leader Kimi Antonelli as the Briton looks to claw back a 50-point deficit.
Seven-time world champion Hamilton, who has not challenged for a world title since 2021, is eyeing a record-breaking eighth championship this season but will have to chip away at 19-year-old Antonelli’s lead, starting this weekend as F1 returns after the summer break with the Dutch Grand Prix.
Hamilton has praised the speed and poise of Antonelli, 22 years his junior, so far this year and admitted the Italian is yet to show any “weaknesses.” The Mercedes driver, with 12 rounds remaining, is looking to become the youngest-ever Formula 1 world champion this year.
"There are pros and cons to it,” Hamilton said, when asked about Antonelli’s age amidst the tension of a world championship battle. “He's obviously very fast. He's doing an amazing job.
"When you are 19 you don't really have much else going on in your life really, so you don't have many other pressures. I remember when I was that age and things are relatively easier in life, I would say.
"Nonetheless, it's not saying he hasn't still got a hard job ahead of him, but he's been doing great.
"I'm not really looking at any weaknesses because I don't think he has shown any this season. I think we've got to just work hard to just continue to apply the pressure."
Hamilton claimed his first grand prix win with Ferrari in June in Barcelona but endured frustrating events in Belgium and Hungary to close out the first-half of the season, blighted by clumsy penalties and missed opportunities.
“I think we can do a better job in the second half, so that's the goal,” Hamilton added.
“It is a development race, always. Mercedes have been leading all year and so it's been a development catch-up. We've been trying to catch up, adding bits to the car constantly, as everyone is adding bits as well.
“We've just got to continue to try and close the gap, which I really do believe we can. I don't think we're too far away.”
Hamilton’s rival Max Verstappen signed a new contract this week with Red Bull, ahead of his home event at Zandvoort.
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