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Lewis Hamilton has been in his fair share of intense championship battles during his illustrious F1 career, leading Jolyon Palmer to fear for Fred Vasseur if Ferrari entered an intra-team title fight between the Briton and Charles Leclerc.
Ferrari are yet to put up a serious fight for over a decade now. Sebastian Vettel unsuccessfully attempted to dethrone the Silver Arrows during their heyday in the mid-to-late 2010s, while Charles Leclerc’s battle versus Max Verstappen in 2022 lasted all of three rounds.
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The arrival of Lewis Hamilton at Maranello ahead of the 2025 campaign arguably marked Ferrari’s strongest driver line-up since the days of Michael Schumacher, and their 2026-spec SF-26 has looked like a serious challenger in the current campaign.
While Ferrari still need to make a few more steps before they are considered title candidates, F1 pundit Jolyon Palmer has shared his fears regarding Fred Vasseur’s management of the team if Hamilton and Leclerc were pitted against each other in a title fight.
- READ MORE: Nelson Piquet Jr explains why Lewis Hamilton is ‘naturally’ not Ferrari’s number one driver
Jolyon Palmer fears for Fred Vasseur in an intra-team title fight at Ferrari
During a recent episode of the F1 Nation podcast, Palmer asked his co-hosts, former IndyCar star James Hinchcliffe and journalist Tom Clarkson, about which current driver pairing would pose the most difficult task for a team principal in an intra-team title fight.
Clarkson began by highlighting Hamilton as a ‘common denominator’ in most of the recent teammate championship battles that turned sour.
He said, “There’s a common denominator here. I think Leclerc-Hamilton would kick off. And I think there’s a ferocious competitiveness in Lewis, that he just leaves no stone unturned.
“I’m not saying he’s dirty in any way, but just that level of ferocious competitiveness, I think, would end up leading to trouble.”
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After Hinchcliffe agreed with Clarkson’s sentiments, Palmer then added his two cents, saying, “There’s a bit of ego there as well. There’s ego in everyone, but I think you’ve got to not be accepting second place.
“You’ve got to be thinking, I’m the best, this is my title. It’s completely what I was thinking, with Leclerc and Hamilton.
“You’ve got a guy that’s won seven, and then you’ve got a generational talent that hasn’t won one yet. I don’t think there’s a way that Fred could manage it, if they’re even on pace and they have the best car like that.”
After noting the highly toxic clash between Hamilton and Nico Rosberg during the mid-2010s, Palmer then highlighted how a confrontation between two extremely ambitious drivers is ‘unavoidable’ for any F1 team’s leadership.
He ended with, “I just think ultimately, if the characters are there, it’s unavoidable for a team principal.”
- READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton warned he needs a ‘miracle’ to beat ‘world champion material’ Charles Leclerc
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