After the victory in Barcelona, Ferrari fans expected a strong result in Austria, buoyed by the Englishman’s superb form, his speed, and a newfound consistency in results.

Lewis fought hard, but it wasn’t enough; a 5th-place finish feels disappointing right now. “Along with the power deficit, overheating was an issue. I thought I could match Russell’s pace, but then the tire degradation kicked in.” “Catching up? It takes time.”

“Unfortunately, I don’t know if this engine gap can be closed over the course of the season.” A heavily disappointed but still determined Lewis Hamilton reflected on his fifth-place finish at the Austrian GP. Once again, Lewis was Ferrari’s standout performer. He fought brilliantly in the first part of the race, sticking as close as possible to Russell’s Mercedes after pulling clear of Leclerc, and put on a show while battling Max Verstappen. Ultimately, however, he had to surrender to his SF-26, which this time failed to help him replicate the magic seen in Spain. True to his leadership role, he rallied the team, trying to keep morale high. But this race proved that, beyond an obvious speed deficit compared to their rivals, there was more to the story. “We already saw on Friday,” Lewis said, “that we were the fastest in the corners—at least, more or less on Friday—but then we were losing six-tenths to the Mercedes cars just on the straights. We did a good job in qualifying, but in the race, it wasn’t just that problem; there was also overheating, the car was sliding, and the balance was very difficult.”

The situation behind Russell progressively worsened. “I thought I could keep up with George’s pace early on,” he said, “but then the tires started to degrade and he was pulling away massively on the straights, so I had to push harder in the corners to try and compensate for that difference. But I didn’t expect it to be this big. We are at altitude here and thought we might have a better chance, but that really wasn’t the case.”

“I think the gap is very large,” the seven-time world champion added. “I don’t know if it can be closed in a single season. It takes months and months to develop, test for reliability, and make the necessary changes, and I don’t have any updates on that. I believe we can make another step forward at some point this year, but it will be later on, meaning we have some very challenging races ahead of us before that happens. At other circuits with a lot of corners, we hope to be in better shape, but looking ahead to Silverstone—well, it won’t be easy because of the long straights. It’s a track where I usually do well, but the issue will be towards the end of the straights.”