– Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc has so far been in the shadow of his teammate Lewis Hamilton in the 2026 Formula 1 season: Although the Monegasque was able to win the British Grand Prix, he is already 31 points behind the seven-time world champion in the drivers’ championship during the summer break.
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This deficit already led to discussions a few weeks ago about whether Leclerc should serve Hamilton for the rest of the season to preserve the Scuderia’s already tiny championship chance. However, former Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer has a clear opinion on this.
“No,” said the native Romanian in the podcast High Performance Racing, in which he was a guest together with former Ferrari race engineer Rob Smedley. “Leave him alone. I would not have a conversation, but be supportive.”
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“Lewis was ahead of Leclerc at the beginning of the year – and I am not speaking from facts here, but only from my feeling – a bit more than he is now,” Szafnauer added. “I think Charles has caught up a bit to Lewis in the last two races.”
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Smedley: Leclerc “was not satisfied with the car”
Smedley agreed with this assessment and also pointed out that it was a rather unusual experience for the Monegasque to fall behind within his own team. “I think this is the first time in a long time for Charles that his teammate had a clear advantage,” said the former Ferrari employee.
“Charles was not satisfied with the car. I know they changed components on the brake system, different materials and such things, but it felt like he was a bit disoriented for a driver with his experience and class.”
Indeed, after his Silverstone win, Leclerc experienced a small upswing again. In both Belgium and Hungary, the Monegasque then finished ahead of his teammate – although this was partly due to the Italians’ strategy.
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