Can Lewis Hamilton stop Mercedes? His cheeky answer Is going viral

Lewis Hamilton joked that he would have to “undo the bolts” on Mercedes’ cars if he wanted a realistic chance of winning a record eighth Formula One drivers’ championship this season. TThe Ferrari driver made the tongue-in-cheek remark ahead of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, acknowledging that Mercedes have been the benchmark team this season.

Mercedes have dominated the season so far, winning seven of the first eight races, while 19-year-old Kimi Antonelli leads the drivers’ standings by 46 points over Hamilton.

“Other than me going into the Mercedes garage and undoing the bolts…,” Hamilton joked when asked what it would take to turn himself into a championship contender. “Mercedes is a phenomenal team. You’re seeing them perform at such an amazing level. It’s really beautiful to see when a team is fully in synergy, and what they’ve brought and what they’ve done this year is mighty. I think it’s going to take a huge amount for anyone to close them down.”

Hamilton heads into his home race buoyed by his maiden Ferrari victory in Spain last month, which ended Antonelli’s streak of five consecutive wins. Back-to-back runner-up finishes before that also reignited speculation that the seven-time world champion could still mount an unlikely challenge for a record-breaking eighth title, even as Mercedes continue to dominate both qualifying and race pace.

Despite the daunting gap, Hamilton insisted he was not giving up on the title race. “We as a team have to just continue to believe, continue to stay calm. We just have to extract everything we can from each weekend and even, if possible, a little bit more than what performance-wise is possible. It’s also too early to talk about the title. Kimi is far ahead, but it’s not over till it’s over. Every single person is so geed up and pushing as much as they can, so that’s all I can ever ask for.”

MERCEDES SETS THE PACE

Mercedes have emerged as the team to beat in 2026, claiming victory in seven of the opening eight Grands Prix and securing pole position at every race so far this season.

Antonelli, who is enjoying a sensational rookie campaign, has established himself as the championship leader after eight rounds. The Italian finished third at the Austrian Grand Prix last weekend, while teammate George Russell took victory and Hamilton crossed the line in fifth.

Hamilton, who won six of his seven world championships with Mercedes before moving to Ferrari, acknowledged the scale of the challenge facing his new team but maintained that the championship fight is far from over.

The nine-time British Grand Prix winner will now look to build on Ferrari’s recent progress at Silverstone, hoping a strong home result can further reduce the deficit to Antonelli as the season approaches its halfway stage.

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