Jolyon Palmer has heard Charles Leclerc say something a ‘topline’ F1 driver should never repeat

Follow us on Google Discover

Jolyon Palmer believes that Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, suggesting that he was enjoying his battle with Lewis Hamilton despite coming out behind at the Chinese Grand Prix, is something that a ‘topline’ Formula 1 driver should never say.

Charles Leclerc was solely responsible for Ferrari achieving seven podiums during the 2025 Formula 1 season.

It’s a record that Lewis Hamilton wouldn’t have been happy with, but at the Chinese Grand Prix, he finally brought his barren run without a podium to an end.

Fred Vasseur refuses to use team orders at Ferrari – Is he wrong?

Comment

Like or Comment

Have your say Sign-in now for free

Leclerc and Hamilton produced a masterclass in racing, going wheel-to-wheel for some time before the seven-time world champion eventually came out on top.

However, by doing so, they let Andrea Kimi Antonelli race off into the distance to secure his first win, and George Russell overtook them both to finish second.

Jolyon Palmer was reflecting on the race and admitted that one of Leclerc’s radio messages during his battle with Hamilton was something he never expected to hear from a ‘topline’ F1 driver.

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

Jolyon Palmer says Charles Leclerc losing to Lewis Hamilton should never be a positive

During the official post-race analysis of the Chinese Grand Prix, Palmer was analysing the battle between the two Ferrari drivers.

At one point, Leclerc was heard on the radio saying: “That is actually quite a fun battle,” to which Bryan Bozzi, his race engineer, replied: “I’m glad.”

In response to this, Palmer explained: “Yeah. I’ve never heard a topline racing driver lose out to his teammate and then just say, ‘Oh, that was still really fun, though’, in the middle of a Grand Prix.

“He’s really chilled and magnanimous, isn’t he, Charles? I still think he backs his talent. He knows that he’ll get some opportunities up the road and fundamentally love the fight.”

Ralf Schumacher thinks Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc are not ‘the best of friends’

Predict when the Ferrari drivers will crash with each other

Comment

Like or Comment

Have your say Sign-in now for free

While Palmer isn’t necessarily criticising Leclerc for what he said, it does raise an interesting point about his mindset against Hamilton.

There will be an element of the Monegasque driver believing that he has what it takes to beat Hamilton over the course of a season based on what happened last year.

However, Hamilton looks far more comfortable in this year’s car compared to any of the machines he drove during the ground-effect era, and so Leclerc is more than likely going to need to up his game over the coming races.

READ MORE: All you need to know about Scuderia Ferrari from team principal to factory

Charles Leclerc says Lewis Hamilton was ‘just stronger’ at the Chinese Grand Prix

Leclerc was interviewed after the race about his battle with Hamilton and said: “I’m not sure if you ask for the team, they will reply the same, but I really enjoyed it!

“Honestly, these cars in four races, it’s actually quite fun. It was just a cool race.

“At the end of the day, Lewis was just stronger. I’m happy for his podium. Of course, disappointed for losing out on the podium on my side, but I know I’ve given everything. At the end of the day, Lewis was just stronger this weekend.

“I think it was a very fair, hard, but fair battle, which, yeah, was nice.

“And then there’s also a lot of tactics from inside the cockpit that is really cool. There was this, obviously, this battle for who will get the overtake in the last corner and both brake very early, and the way you deploy and manage the energy.”

Leclerc and Hamilton will hope that Ferrari adopt a similar strategy to McLaren when it comes to their intra-team battle.

The ‘papaya rules’ certainly had downsides, and both drivers will likely want fairness to be chucked out of the window if it means they can get one over a dominant Mercedes team.

However, Leclerc thinks his battle with Hamilton was ‘fantastic’ for Ferrari’s hopes this season, even if they nearly came to blows in Shanghai.