Nick Heidfeld predicts Lewis Hamilton’s F1 woes to continue as Charles Leclerc enters his ‘prime’

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Lewis Hamilton has arrived at the 2026 F1 season with a newfound sense of optimism, but former F1 driver Nick Heidfeld thinks the seven-time world champion will continue to suffer due to Charles Leclerc currently being at the peak of his career.

Lewis Hamilton’s form during his debut season with Ferrari last year was of stark contrast to the calibre of performances we have come to expect from the seven-time world champion over the course of his illustrious F1 career.

Paired up against the Scuderia’s golden boy, Charles Leclerc, Hamilton was on the receiving end of a thrashing in the Ferrari teammate battle, only managing to get the better of the Monegasque in three Grands Prix.

However, things are looking more optimistic for the 105-time Grand Prix winner ahead of a term in which he hopes to secure his maiden podium in Ferrari colours.

The Scuderia finally look like they may have a car that can compete for a title, with Charles Leclerc being predicted to win the season-opening Australian Grand Prix by F1 pundit Martin Brundle.

• READ MORE: Charles Leclerc refuses to admit 2026 could be Ferrari’s year despite ‘very positive’ Bahrain test

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Nick Heidfeld thinks Lewis Hamilton will continue to suffer against a Charles Leclerc in his ‘prime’

While the majority of paddock figures are under the impression that Ferrari will have a barn-storming start to the season, former F1 driver Nick Heidfeld has shared his doubts over the Italian constructor’s upcoming campaign.

When asked if Ferrari can return to their former glory days on an episode of the F1 Insider podcast, Heidfeld replied, “Theoretically, of course. Whether that will happen this year is the big question. At the moment, I would doubt that.

“That’s how it’s often looked in recent years, and people say, ‘The Ferrari doesn’t look so bad, they had the technician do this and that during testing,’ and then the season came and it didn’t work again.”

Heidfeld has been critical of Hamilton in the past, and continued to downplay the 41-year-old’s chances of redemption in the new term.

“I think Lewis will still have a hard time,” he added. “Simply because, in my opinion, Leclerc is really in his prime at the moment, whereas Lewis is not.

“That could make things difficult for Lewis, even though he has said that he likes the car better now and is more comfortable with it.

“But he’s not really used to having a teammate who is faster than him in his career. That’s the case at Ferrari at the moment, even if the car suits him better now.

“To be honest, I would be surprised if he had the upper hand at Ferrari this year.”

• READ MORE: Fred Vasseur ‘pleased’ Ferrari’s 2026 innovations have gained so much attention in F1 paddock

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Nick Heidfeld was snubbed for a Mercedes seat in favour of Lewis Hamilton in 2013

Heidfeld was at the peak of his F1 career at the time of Hamilton’s arrival on the grid, and had cemented himself as a strong driver who had several respectable podium finishes to his name.

In fact, Sauber nearly dropped Heidfeld for Hamilton in 2006 when McLaren boss Ron Dennis was looking for an independent team for the Brit to hone his craft in.

In the end, the two parties disagreed on the terms of the loan, but that didn’t stop Hamilton and Heidfeld’s paths crossing again in the F1 driver market years later.

Mercedes were initially interested in securing the German driver’s talents for the works team ahead of the 2013 season, and it wasn’t until Niki Lauda took it upon himself to go to Hamilton’s hotel room in Singapore to ensure that he became a Silver Arrow.

It would have been fascinating to see how the trajectories of both Hamilton and Heidfeld’s F1 careers would have panned out if that was the way things turned out, but the British driver chose to write history instead.