‘If he smells blood, he goes’ – Hamilton is ‘absolutely’ a title threat insists Wolff

Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff insists Lewis Hamilton is "absolutely" in the hunt for an eighth World title this season after the Ferrari driver returned to winning ways on Sunday.

Hamilton claimed his first Grand Prix victory for Ferrari in the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, becoming the first driver to beat Mercedes on a Sunday this year.

The seven-time World Champion used a three-stop strategy as opposed to the two stops employed by Mercedes for George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, with a Virtual Safety Car helping Hamilton to make his final pit stop and rejoin in the lead.

With Antonelli suffering a late retirement, the Italian teenager's lead in the Drivers' standings now sits at 41 points from Hamilton, who's second in the standings.

"I'd rather not fight with him [Hamilton] for a title because I know what he's capable of. If he smells blood, he goes," said Wolff after the race. "I've seen it many years where suddenly the Lewis Hamilton train started to go and then it's very difficult to stop it."

Pressed on whether he sees Hamilton as a genuine title contender, Wolff replied: "Yes, absolutely. We're so early in the season, the gap is 41 points. A DNF robs you of 25 points and it's wide open.

"That's why we can't afford to not finish, and we need to just keep putting performance on the car and on the power unit, not make mistakes, be clever with the strategy and stay absolutely on it."

Hamilton has finished on the podium in the last three Grands Prix, which is in stark contrast to his first season with Ferrari where he failed to reach the rostrum in 24 attempts.

Having helped develop Ferrari's SF-26 over the winter, and with a new race engineer in the form of Carlo Santi, Hamilton has hit his stride this season.

Wolff, who oversaw all six of Hamilton's drivers' titles at Mercedes, believes the new-for-2026 regulations might suit his former driver more compared to the previous generation of ground effect cars – and that his upturn in form could also be attributed to the Briton being happier in his personal life, with Hamilton having recently been spending time with American celebrity Kim Kardashian.

"Hard work," said Wolff when asked what was behind his former driver's revival. "And I think this is a car that is maybe different to the previous era cars with the bouncing, with the stiffness, maybe not easy to feel.

"And this is back to more conventional driving in terms of aerodynamics and vehicle dynamics. Obviously, the engine management is completely different, but you can see he's driving strong. The dynamics in the team look to be good between him and his race engineer.

"I saw him on the podium, on the telly. I mean, that face shows me that he's very happy. Maybe the girlfriend helps.

"[It] helped me to have a partner [so] that you have a stable family life, and they seem to be getting on really well. I think it's all of those factors that put together – the emotional and the personal and professional perspective. If they are in a good place, you win."