Ferrari garage atmosphere is now ‘diametrically opposed’ after Lewis Hamilton’s breakthrough

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Ferrari are now facing a very opposed atmosphere across the two sides of the garage, after Lewis Hamilton took his best result in red as Charles Leclerc struggled in Canada.

Hamilton endured a self-proclaimed “nightmare” during his first season at Ferrari in 2026, as the Briton struggled to adapt to the Scuderia’s ways in the last year of the ground-effect cars that he hated. Yet the 2026 F1 cars have seen a revived Hamilton begin to return to the fore.

A change in approach ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix also helped Hamilton to achieve his best result for Ferrari to date with P2 in Montreal. The seven-time F1 champion has stopped using Ferrari’s simulator, as he felt his efforts did not align with his real-world performances.

But while Hamilton finished P2 in the Canadian GP, the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve did not offer Leclerc many positives. The Monegasque finished the race in P4 but trailed his teammate by a massive 33.383 seconds, representing the worst deficit he has had to the Briton this year.

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Lewis Hamilton’s Canadian GP performance sparked a contrasting atmosphere in the Ferrari garage

Their contrasting performances in Canada even saw the atmosphere within Ferrari’s garage become ‘diametrically opposed’ between Hamilton and Leclerc’s sides. That is according to Gazzetta dello Sport, which also adds that Hamilton is now ‘more fired up than ever’ in red.

READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton’s seven best Mercedes drives before joining Ferrari in 2025

Hamilton’s result in Montreal proved the ‘methodological breakthrough’ that he has found by ditching Ferrari’s simulator and now only relying on his experiences and real-world data. The 41-year-old is also determined to show that his P2 in Canada was not an isolated result.

In contrast, Leclerc was left searching for answers in Montreal and is now looking to bounce back on home soil at the Monaco Grand Prix this weekend. The 28-year-old is a specialist on the streets of the Principality, but he now faces a ‘delicate moment’ amid Hamilton’s upturn.

Hamilton is even now only three points behind Leclerc in the F1 drivers’ standings after five rounds, with 72 in his account to the Monegasque’s 75. The chance for Hamilton to surpass Leclerc in the table for the first time this season will thus be on the cards at the Monaco GP.

Leclerc has been Ferrari’s lead driver after each of the first five rounds this term, but he had no response to Hamilton’s speed in Canada. Also, Jolyon Palmer believes the data suggests Hamilton will be among the favourites in Monaco as he was so quick in Canada’s first sector.