Ferrari thought they formed the best driver line-up on the Formula 1 grid by signing Lewis Hamilton to partner Charles Leclerc this term, yet all is not well in Maranello.
The Scuderia moved early to decide their driver line-up for at least 2025 and 2026. Leclerc agreed to a new contract through 2029 in January 2024, and Ferrari gave Hamilton an initial two-year contract in February 2024. Yet the drivers’ partnership is already now on the rocks.
Leclerc has been a Ferrari driver since the 2019 F1 season and his ties to the pride of Italy go back to when the 27-year-old joined their academy in March 2016. Yet he is now pondering his future for the first time, with Leclerc open to leaving Ferrari after losing faith in the team.
Further changes could also be on the cards as pressure is building on Ferrari team principal, Fred Vasseur. The Scuderia might sit second in the F1 constructors’ championship ahead of this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix, yet they trail McLaren by 197 points after nine rounds.
Charles Leclerc is ‘annoyed’ with the attention Ferrari’s engineers give Lewis Hamilton
Leclerc’s uneasy belief in the Scuderia and Hamilton’s challenges adapting to the SF-25 are two of the reasons why Ferrari have given Vasseur three races to save his job. The Maranello natives’ top brass want the Frenchman to prove why he should be given a contract for 2026.
It will not help his cause having tension between the team’s drivers. But RMC Motori is now reporting that Leclerc has grown ‘annoyed’ about the attention that Ferrari’s engineers must allow Hamilton. The Briton is dominating the Scuderia’s pre and post-race technical debriefs.
READ MORE: Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton’s life outside F1 from net worth to family
| Position | Drivers’ Championship | Points |
| 1 |
Oscar Piastri |
186 |
| 2 |
Lando Norris |
176 |
| 3 |
Max Verstappen |
137 |
| 4 |
George Russell |
111 |
| 5 |
Charles Leclerc |
94 |
| 6 |
Lewis Hamilton |
71 |
| 7 |
Andrea Kimi Antonelli |
48 |
Hamilton has sought to maximise Ferrari’s debriefs by scrupulously analysing the data their engineers gather from his on-track action in an attempt to find answers for his ongoing lack of results. The 40-year-old is even forcing Ferrari’s technicians to write ‘mountains’ of notes.
Leclerc is feeling slightly put out by the attention Ferrari now offer Hamilton in his efforts to explore how his SF-25 behaves on the circuit and what he wants their mechanics to change. Yet the 27-year-old is still the Ferrari driver leading their efforts, with 94 points to 71 to date.
Lewis Hamilton is desperate for answers after being dominated by Charles Leclerc
Leclerc has registered all three of Ferrari’s Grand Prix podiums so far this season with his P2 finish in Monaco plus P3 in Saudi Arabia and Spain. Hamilton’s best finish with Ferrari since moving from Mercedes remains the Briton’s P4 finish from the Emilia Romagna GP at Imola.
David Coulthard doubts Hamilton will win an eighth F1 title now after his struggles adapting to Ferrari this season, as well. The Stevenage-born hero has only excelled in F1 Sprints since donning the iconic red overalls after Hamilton won the Shanghai Sprint and got P3 in Miami.
READ MORE: Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend
Ferrari hope their rear suspension upgrade helps Hamilton, as his greatest issue with the SF-25 is how unpredictable the rear of the car is. It has helped to see the Briton be on average 0.223 seconds slower than Leclerc in qualifying and also be out-qualified seven times so far.
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