Ferrari face delicate internal situation after Lewis Hamilton’s Chinese GP duel with Charles Leclerc

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The atmosphere at Ferrari will be one of the key themes to follow in 2026, after Lewis Hamilton’s Chinese Grand Prix duel with Charles Leclerc revealed a delicate situation.

Leclerc has been the number one driver at Ferrari ever since he arrived in Maranello in 2019 to replace Kimi Raikkonen. The Monegasque instantly asserted his place next to four-time F1 champion Sebastian Vettel, and he then continued to lead the Scuderia next to Carlos Sainz.

Hamilton found out the hard way what it meant to go toe-to-toe with Leclerc at Ferrari after he moved to Maranello in 2025. The Briton’s difficulties adapting to the Scuderia in the final year of the ground-effect era that he hated saw Leclerc dominate their head-to-head duels.

Yet the 2026 F1 regulations have brought the Hamilton of old back out of the shadows, with the seven-time champion far more comfortable with the smaller and nimbler chassis. Just a single point also currently separates Leclerc and Hamilton after their duel in the Chinese GP.

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Ferrari must manage a ‘delicate’ internal situation with Lewis Hamilton rivalling Charles Leclerc

Hamilton’s aggression irked Leclerc during the F1 Sprint in Shanghai last Saturday, but it was simply a taster for their duel for the last step on the Grand Prix podium on Sunday. Hamilton won a back-and-forth battle with Leclerc in the Chinese GP, and finished 3.627s clear for P3.

READ MORE: 2026 Chinese Grand Prix race report, as Kimi Antonelli scored his first F1 win

But while Hamilton affirmed his return to form by securing his first Grand Prix podium finish as a Ferrari driver in China, Formula Tecnica claims his duel with Leclerc in Shanghai proved the ‘internal’ situation in Maranello is ‘delicate’ and needs to be handled carefully this year.

Hamilton has proven that he feels comfortable with the Ferrari SF-26 and is able to maintain a consistent pace, along with reading the race well. So, while Leclerc currently remains their ‘benchmark’ for single-lap speed, Ferrari must stay alert to stop the internal balance fading.

Ferrari have already seen Hamilton start to rival Leclerc in qualifying, as well. While the 41-year-old lost 19-5 to the 28-year-old during Grand Prix qualifying sessions last term, he was only 0.151s slower than the Monegasque in Q3 in Australia and was 0.013s faster in China.

Leclerc was even 0.367s slower than Hamilton during SQ3 in Sprint Qualifying in Shanghai, giving the Briton an early 1-0 lead in that head-to-head which he lost 4-2 last year. But it is still very early on in the 2026 F1 season, with just two of this term’s 22 rounds completed.