Lewis Hamilton has played down expectations around Ferrari's upgraded floor for the Austrian Grand Prix, while admitting his main focus is on building for 2026.

Hamilton joined the Scuderia following 12 hugely successful seasons with Mercedes, in which he won six of his record-equalling haul of seven Formula One drivers' titles.

However, he has struggled to have a similar impact with Ferrari and has now won just two races since the end of the 2022 campaign.

He is yet to record a podium finish for Ferrari in 10 attempts. Having also failed to make the top three in his last two outings with Mercedes, this is Hamilton's joint-longest run without a podium finish in F1 (also 12 between Sao Paulo 2023 and Canada 2024).

Hamilton is sixth in the drivers' standings, but with Ferrari introducing a new floor to their SF-25 car for this weekend's race in Austria, fans are hoping for an upturn.

The 40-year-old played down those expectations on Thursday, saying: "The team have worked really hard to bring a new floor. 

"We don't know what kind of step it is, so I'll find out tomorrow. You always want upgrades so I'm grateful for every little bit, whether it's a small or big piece.

"What I would say is, don't expect much change. Hopefully we'll find something that we didn't expect, but again, we don't really know, so we will find out tomorrow.

"Hopefully it will be a step forward in the right direction, and I think that's the most important thing, that we are moving forwards."

Shades on. Show time  pic.twitter.com/28QwX5JQVo

— Scuderia Ferrari HP (@ScuderiaFerrari) June 27, 2025

Regulation changes are set to shake up the grid ahead of 2026, with reduced car dimensions and power unit advancements expected to blow the championship race wide open.

With Ferrari 191 points behind McLaren in this year's Constructors' Championship, Hamilton says the team's focus has already turned to next campaign.

He said: "I'm focused more on changes in the background, foundation-building stuff that we need to put in place in order to have a better 2026."

Despite his lack of victories or podium finishes, Hamilton has scored points in each of his last 31 races. 

This is the third time he has achieved this, with those three runs all placing within the seven longest in F1 history.

He holds the record for most consecutive races with points scored, with a run of 48 between Silverstone 2018 and Bahrain 2020.