Ferrari now have one ‘internal’ question about Lewis Hamilton that could have a big impact on his future in Maranello

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Lewis Hamilton suggested Ferrari have ‘every ingredient’ to win a world championship after he moved to Maranello, but the Briton is still yet to win a Grand Prix this season.

The 40-year-old traded the silver of Mercedes for the red of the Scuderia before the 2025 F1 season to realise his childhood dream of being a Ferrari driver. But while Hamilton could not stop ‘pinching’ himself upon joining Ferrari, his season has not yet proven to be a dream.

At the halfway stage of the season, Hamilton is only sixth in the F1 drivers’ championship on 103 points. It marks his worst return after 12 rounds in any campaign since F1 introduced its current point-scoring format in 2010, despite Hamilton taking 14 points from two F1 Sprints.

F1 Sprints have also yielded his best results for Ferrari so far. Hamilton won the China Sprint and came third in the Miami Sprint, but he is yet to get a Grand Prix podium for Ferrari. This weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix also features the third of the six Sprints on F1’s 2025 calendar.

Ferrari want to know who out of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc will be their team leader in 2026

It has not been a great season for Charles Leclerc, either. Despite the 27-year-old taking four Grand Prix podiums this season with P2 in Monaco and P3 results in Saudi Arabia, Spain and Austria, the Monegasque only sits fifth in the drivers’ standings with 119 points to his name.

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So, while Ferrari are second in the constructors’ championship ahead of the Belgian GP, they trail defending champions McLaren by 238 points – despite only losing out on the 2024 title by 14 points. Mercedes are only 12 points behind Ferrari heading to Spa this weekend, too.

Therefore, thoughts in Maranello are already shifting to 2026 and Ferrari want to know who out of Hamilton and Leclerc will ‘lead the team’ next year. Motorsport.com reports it is now one of the ‘internal’ questions that Ferrari hope to answer before the end of the 2025 term.

Charles Leclerc is dominating Lewis Hamilton in their first season as Ferrari teammates

Ferrari have not thrown in the towel on their 2025 season just yet, but their focus is on next year. The rear suspension upgrade that Ferrari will debut at the Belgian GP is expected to be the final major update the Scuderia produce, with only an occasional small tweak now likely.

Technical director Loic Serra had to divert his focus away from overseeing the design of their car for the 2026 F1 regulations to help Ferrari fix their unpredictable rear end that has given Hamilton problems all year. But Serra will now put his full focus back into next year’s design.

READ MORE: Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend

After this term’s huge disappointment, with team principal Fred Vasseur also suggesting that Ferrari would challenge for the titles before the campaign, the Scuderia will be desperate to challenge in 2026. And, seemingly, they want to have a clear No1 to lead any title challenge.

Leclerc has so far acted as the team leader in Maranello, as Hamilton has struggled to adapt to Ferrari’s methods and their car. The Monegasque has more points and podiums, and also leads their Grand Prix qualifying (8-4) and (9-2) race results head-to-heads after 12 rounds.

So, Hamilton will need to show a massive improvement across the remaining 12 Grands Prix and four F1 Sprints to convince Ferrari that he should be their team leader next year instead of Leclerc. It would be hard for Ferrari product Leclerc to take, having been there since 2019.