Hamilton has enjoyed an excellent second season at Ferrari, claiming his first win since joining the team with victory at the Spanish Grand Prix and picking up three further podiums.
Those results have left him third in the standings and have sparked hopes of a title challenge, but the seven-time world champion isn't confident that he can catch championship leader Kimi Antonelli and the other Mercedes of George Russell.
"I think other than me going into the Mercedes garage and undoing the bolts..." he joked to reporters at Silverstone ahead of the British Grand Prix when asked whether he could be the 2026 champion.
"Look, I mean, Mercedes is a phenomenal team. You see them perform at such an amazing level. It's really beautiful to see when a team's fully in synergy, and what they've brought and what they've done this year is mighty. And I think it's going to take a huge amount for anyone to close them down."
Hamilton also thinks that Max Verstappen could get himself into the mix, with Red Bull introducing strong upgrades last time out in Austria that the Dutchman utilised to finish second.
"They made a massive step in the last race. So undoubtedly, I imagine Max is going to be a big contender, and he's got the power also to match the Mercedes. I anticipate they're going to be really strong."
Hamilton has won his home race nine times, but isn't confident that Ferrari will be strong enough at Silverstone for him to compete for triumph number 10.
He's also concerned about the impact that the 2026 regulations will have on the race, expecting the required battery management to cause big issues, with the fast nature of the circuit causing drivers to often be short on power.
"I think this is going to be an unprecedented weekend in terms of the power deployment," said Hamilton.
"All of us drivers have been talking on the drivers chat (about) just how poor the power is going to be through this track.
"When we run out of battery power, there are only a few corners to charge the engine, so the (MGU-)K will be switched off for a large portion of the lap."
