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Martin Brundle has outlined what Charles Leclerc ‘needs’ to halt Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton’s recent form.
After being convincingly beaten by Leclerc in 2025, seven-time world champion Hamilton headed into 2026 with mounting pressure on his shoulders.
The 41-year-old has since silenced his critics, producing a string of impressive performances in recent races.
Following back-to-back P2 finishes in Montreal and Monaco, Hamilton won the Barcelona Grand Prix on Sunday ahead of George Russell and Lando Norris.
Meanwhile, Leclerc was forced to retire in the closing stages, meaning he has now failed to finish his last two races.
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Martin Brundle tells Charles Leclerc what he ‘needs’ to catch Lewis Hamilton
As things stand, Hamilton is now 40 points ahead of Leclerc in the world championship standings.
Writing in his latest race review for Sky Sports F1, Brundle has claimed that Hamilton is looking like a ‘clear team leader’ at Ferrari.
The 67-year-old added that Leclerc has endured a ‘torrid’ time and needs to bounce back in the upcoming races in Austria and Silverstone in order to ‘re-establish himself’.
Brundle wrote: “A lap after Antonelli retired, the unfortunate Leclerc also had to park his Ferrari.
“He’s had a torrid time of late, and he needs a very strong performance in the upcoming Austria and Silverstone races to re-establish himself.
“Because Hamilton is looking like the clear team leader now. Lewis’ last three race results read second, second, first.”
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Would Lewis Hamilton have won in Barcelona without the VSC?
During the race, Hamilton was helped by a timely VSC, which allowed him to make a cheap pit stop and return to the track ahead of Russell and Antonelli.
While many people felt Hamilton only won because of the VSC, Brundle disagrees, claiming that he would have come out victorious even without the VSC.
Brundle added: “The Virtual Safety Car ended conveniently just as Lewis left the pit lane. He could surely win his first Grand Prix for Ferrari, and impressively, he then proceeded to check out up front and won by 19 seconds.
“Would he have won regardless of saving 10 seconds on that third and final stop?
“It’s hard to be certain because he would have needed to overtake Norris and the two Mercedes ordinarily, but my feeling is that he would have won anyway, such was his pace and tyre advantage in the closing stages.”
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