Charles Leclerc told he’s ‘starting to suffer’ from behind-the-scenes change Lewis Hamilton has made

Follow us on Google Discover

Former Ferrari driver Ivan Capelli believes Charles Leclerc is now “starting to suffer” in Maranello from Lewis Hamilton finally having the working method that he demanded.

Leclerc dominated Hamilton in their first head-to-head battle as Ferrari teammates last year, following the latter’s move to Maranello. The Monegasque capitalised on the Briton’s issues adapting to his first non-English team in the last term of the ground-effect era that he hated.

But the 2026 F1 regulations and the changes that Hamilton has made behind the scenes at Ferrari over the past 17 months have turned the tide in his favour. The 41-year-old now sits on 115 points through seven rounds in 2026, whereas Leclerc has only secured 75 thus far.

Lewis Hamilton is now only missing a Grand Prix pole position for Ferrari 🏆 Predict when it will come?

Comment

Like or Comment

Have your say Sign-in now for free

Ivan Capelli thinks Lewis Hamilton changing Ferrari’s methods is hurting Charles Leclerc

Leclerc retiring from the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix due to a power-steering failure on the same day that Hamilton scored his first win with Ferrari partly helped create the margin between them. But Sunday was the fifth race in which Hamilton has beaten Leclerc in 2026.

READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton scores his first Grand Prix win for Ferrari in Barcelona

Recent weeks have been painful for Leclerc, too, having crashed during qualifying in Monaco and Barcelona, plus the race in the Principality, before retiring and having to watch Hamilton win the Barcelona-Catalunya GP. And Capelli feels they are linked to Leclerc feeling pressure.

Capelli believes the cracks have shown in Leclerc’s immense ability of late, as he can feel the effects of Hamilton now having the “working method” he craves at Ferrari. A year ago, there were reports that Ferrari feared Hamilton was overwhelmed with the challenge of adapting to how they worked. Now, Hamilton praises Ferrari for giving him the tools to triumph again.

“These minor mistakes are certainly the result of a lack of composure and the fact that he needs to regain his balance,” Capelli told Fanpage.

“I have always believed this; Charles has immense talent, but he can’t harness it when he needs to develop himself alongside the car. Often, this talent allows him to overcome the car’s limitations, but it doesn’t help him evolve.

“On the other hand, we have a Hamilton who may well be slower over a single lap with an equal car. But now, with his working method, he’s starting to make the difference. And Charles is starting to suffer from this.”

Lewis Hamilton is delighted the changes he ‘pushed for’ at Ferrari are paying off

What is the BIGGEST reason for Lewis Hamilton’s turnaround at Ferrari this year?

Comment

Like or Comment

Have your say Sign-in now for free

Ferrari’s procedures were alien to Hamilton when he joined in 2025, but they were second nature to Leclerc as he has raced for the Scuderia since 2019 and been a part of their driver academy system since 2016. Yet Ferrari have displayed a willingness to change for Hamilton.

It took time for Ferrari to implement some, likely not all, of the changes that Hamilton tried to implement to take the Scuderia back to the front of the F1 grid. The changes also include Ferrari replacing Hamilton’s race engineer for 2026 after he did not gel with Riccardo Adami.

Hamilton is delighted to now be reaping the rewards of those efforts “so early” in the 2026 season. Yet while the Briton’s side of the Scuderia’s garage celebrated his victory in Spain on Sunday, Leclerc crashed during Q3 in Barcelona and he was nowhere near before he retired.

“It’s been happening over the last few races,” Hamilton said, via RACER. “The changes that I’ve asked for and pushed for all last year have been made, and I now have the right team around me. I now have the right car around me, and, now, I can start doing what I do best.

“I think it’s so early in the season to get to this point. These guys have really listened and really worked hard to add performance and be innovative. This year is all about innovations … and this is what I was asking for last year. I was like, ‘This team has to be the leaders in that,’ and they’ve shown that they can and they will.”