Standing on the Monaco podium is one thing. Knowing exactly what it cost to get there — and what it’s going to take to actually challenge for wins — is something else entirely. Lewis Hamilton spoke to Sky Sports F1 about what Barcelona and the rest of the season ahead actually looks like from inside the Ferrari garage.

The short version: the Scuderia has the chassis, and not the engine, and that second part is not a quick fix.

Hamilton has already acknowledged that Ferrari’s power deficit is holding back what would otherwise be the strongest car in the field this season. Despite being the closest challenger to Mercedes at the start of the 2026 campaign, the team has since been overtaken by the Mercedes-powered McLarens in recent rounds minus Monaco.

Heading into Barcelona – a circuit defined by its long straights – that problem is only going to be more visible.

“I mean, we go back to straights. Long straights. So you can imagine for, you know… you saw I think the news came out either yesterday or today that Red Bull have the most powerful engine, Mercedes second, and then we’re behind. So we’ve got now these tokens to try and develop and close the gap, but that’s like an eight to ten month project. You know, so it’s not something we can just do next week,” Hamilton told Sky Sports F1.

Barcelona Could Be Painful Before It Gets Better

Under the ADUO rules, any manufacturer running more than two percent behind the leading internal combustion engine can be granted an additional upgrade allocation for the current season.

Ferrari are widely expected to qualify for that provision, given their power unit is believed to fall outside that 2% margin relative to Mercedes.

If the ruling came through at Monaco, a new power unit upgrade was anticipated to arrive at Barcelona, with Italian outlet Corriere della Sera reporting that “a new, boosted power unit is expected in mid-June in Barcelona.”

Hamilton seemed to be hinting at exactly that window in his Sky Sports interview, saying Ferrari hoped to “add some components to the car” for the Spanish race. But he was equally clear that even an upgraded package isn’t going to suddenly turn the deficit into a fight for pole.

Both Hamilton and Leclerc have regularly launched into the lead off the start this season, only to find the Mercedes-powered cars gradually pulling away once the race settles into a rhythm — a dynamic Ferrari has been studying closely, particularly around energy harvesting and super-clipping output.

Hamilton said on Mercedes’ current form: “It’s my old family, my old team. And when they’re at their best, they’re very, very, very hard to beat.”