Lewis Hamilton is evoking ‘memories’ of Niki Lauda at Ferrari from what he’s done to Charles Leclerc

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Mathias Lauda claims Lewis Hamilton reminds him of his father, Niki Lauda, with how the Briton has had Charles Leclerc “under control” at Ferrari during the 2026 season.

Hamilton was regularly second-best to Leclerc throughout his first year at Ferrari in the 2025 season. But Formula 1 moving on from the ground-effect cars that Hamilton never liked, and Ferrari making changes based on his feedback, yielded a reborn driver under the 2026 rules.

After losing 19-5 to Leclerc in their qualifying head-to-head and 18-3 in Grand Prix races last season, Hamilton leads the Monegasque 6-3 for race results and only trails 5-4 in qualifying this year ahead of the Belgian GP. Hamilton also boasts 147 points to Leclerc’s 108 this year.

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Mathias Lauda sees shades of his father, Niki Lauda, in Lewis Hamilton dominating Charles Leclerc

Hamilton scored his first Grand Prix win for Ferrari in Barcelona in May, too, although Leclerc struck back by winning the British GP for his first win this year. Leclerc resorted to copying Hamilton’s set-ups this year, as well, but won at Silverstone after setting the car to his liking.

READ MORE: The best moments of Lewis Hamilton’s career in Formula 1

Mathias Lauda now notes that the change in supremacy at Ferrari this season in Hamilton’s favour against Leclerc is evoking memories of his dad’s time in Maranello. Niki Lauda drove for Ferrari from 1974 to 1977, and he won the F1 drivers’ championship in 1975 and 1977.

“He brings back memories of my father, who brought him to Mercedes,” Mathias Lauda told OE24. “Lewis, along with Kimi, is the second big surprise of the year.

“It’s impressive how he has his teammate under control, especially considering how good Leclerc is in qualifying, but the new Ferrari suits him. It fits his driving style. Suddenly, the joy and ease are back.”

Hamilton and Niki Lauda had a special bond during the former’s years at Mercedes, after the latter played a crucial role in convincing the Briton to join the Silver Arrows from McLaren in 2013. Hamilton went on to win six of his seven F1 drivers’ titles while racing with Mercedes.

Now, Mathias Lauda is seeing shades of his father Niki’s time at Ferrari in how Hamilton has similarly been able to get the Scuderia to rally around him. Niki was renowned for his ability to get Ferrari to play to his tune due to his amazing technical understanding and work ethic.

Niki Lauda’s 1975 drivers’ title also ended Ferrari’s drought stretching back to 1964, after he got everyone in Maranello to pull in one clear direction. Hamilton is now striving to achieve a similar feat, as Ferrari have not won the drivers’ title since Kimi Raikkonen did so in 2007.

It has already been said that everyone at Ferrari is ready to go all-in on Hamilton’s title bid in 2026, too. Although, it remains to be seen what impact Leclerc’s British GP win may have on that, with the Monegasque now only 39 points behind Hamilton after nine of the 22 rounds.