Hamilton hopeful Ferrari can win at Monza with engine upgrade

Lewis Hamilton said on Thursday that he remains confident Ferrari can compete for victory at the Italian Grand Prix as the team prepares to introduce an upgraded power unit at Monza.

The upgrade will be Ferrari's second on the power unit side this season after the team was granted two development opportunities under Formula 1's 2026 regulations.

The rules allow manufacturers whose internal combustion engines fall behind the leading power unit to make additional upgrades through the Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities system.

Ferrari was found to be more than 4% behind benchmark manufacturer Red Bull following the first review earlier this year.

The Italian team introduced its first upgrade at June's Austrian Grand Prix and will provide the second update to both Hamilton and Charles Leclerc at Monza.

"I think up until this point of the year we've been losing... even in the last race, on such a short circuit, we were losing four tenths a lap through the race, so that's a huge deficit and we've carried that through the year to this point," Hamilton said.

The seven-time world champion acknowledged that the upgrade would not eliminate Ferrari's entire performance deficit but welcomed the team's progress.

"This is a step forward. It's not the whole gap that we need, but we knew that would be the case. But to see bits coming each weekend, adding to the car, it's exciting to see that we are pushing. I strongly still believe that we've got what it takes to win," he added.

Hamilton enters the Italian Grand Prix third in the drivers' standings with 183 points, 59 behind championship leader Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes.

Antonelli is set to start from the back of the grid at his home race after exceeding his permitted allocation of power unit components.

Ferrari will race at Monza with a special livery commemorating the 30th anniversary of Michael Schumacher’s first Italian Grand Prix victory for the team in 1996.