Lewis Hamilton was in bullish form at the recent Chinese Grand Prix in fact probably the best mood he’s been in for years. He qualified in both the Sprint and for the Grand Prix in Shanghai ahead of his term mate which is a huge reversal from the 19-5 qualifying thrashing he received from the Monegasque in 2025.
Whilst Leclerc finished ahead of Lewis in the Sprint, come Sunday afternoon it was Hamilton who came out on top of his team mate in the Grand Prix. The seven times champion made a lightning start and claimed the lead of the race from P3 on the grid only for the superior power of the Mercedes cards to eventually take back control of the race.
However, Hamilton and Leclerc enjoyed some fascinating wheel to wheel on track combat, much of it without the much debated Mario kart style electrical boost. “I actually really enjoyed the race,” revealed Leclerc later in the media pen. “Of course, a little bit disappointed to lose out on the podium but on the other side I’m happy for Lewis and I think he deserves it more than I do on a weekend like this where he’s been more on top of things than me.
Hamilton’s extreme reaction
“He’s just been stronger since FP1 to now, but it was a very nice race. I enjoyed the fight and the only big negative I would say is the gap to Mercedes, which on a day like this, we can see that they are a big step ahead of everyone, so we’ve got to work hard.”
Over the years, the Shanghai International Circuit has been Leclerc’s worst F1 racing venue. His average finishing position is P10 and he’s never made the podium scoring just 34 points in five visits to China. So it was written in the stars that given a Ferrari would make the podium, it would be Hamilton who would be the driver in red celebrating with there champagne.
A day earlier in the Sprint, the Ferrari team mates were not so full of bonhomie for each other as once ahead of Hamilton, Leclerc desperately defended his track position. 1997 F1 champion Jaques Villeneuve observed on Sky F1. “I found Charles very aggressive in his defence against Lewis. That was a little bit almost over the edge, I would say, because Lewis didn’t fight him off meanly; it was very clean. Then Charles was pushing him off the track, which was a little bit tough.”
Hamilton though was overjoyed at breaking his podium duck for Ferrari, having become the driver to join the Scuderia who failed to make the top three for longer than any other in history. His exuberance was hard to miss given his post race comments, where he said: “it was the best racing I’ve ever experienced in F1.” This was presumably a heat of the moment observation, given Hamilton has been involved in numerous epic races during his lengthy career.
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Leclerc forced to adapt his driving style
Since the Chinese Grand Prix, the Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur has revealed that Charles Leclerc has struggled with the all new 2026 cars, which don’t suit his natural driving style. Charles has been Ferrari’s top driver during his seven year tenure with the Scuderia in all but one season when Carlos Sainz outscored him in the final standings.
There have been three significantly different types of F1 car during those seven years which the monegasque driver has mastered and Vasseur believes he will do so once again. When asked whether Leclerc’s adaptation was noticeable, Vasseur replied: “Yeah… but it’s always the case that we have the biggest step in terms of regulations from 25 to 26 than other years, and this requires probably more adaptation and changes; a different approach from the drivers. He is doing it.
“I’m not sure it was fitting very well with his style, but he is on it. He has a very good grip in understanding the situation with the car. He is very sharp, and he will do it.”
Ferrari boss “let them race”
In bygone times, Ferrari have called off the fights between their drivers, concerned they will end in disaster, but Fred Vasseur is taking a different approach as he explained in the Shanghai paddock. “Huge respect for both of them,” he said. “They are professional, and I think it makes sense in this situation to let them race. But I know perfectly that I can also look completely stupid half an hour later, but at the end of the day, I think it’s also the best way to build up a team.
“We need to have this kind of relationship into the team to improve, and as long as it’s done like it was today – even a couple of times on the radio, they told us that they had good fun – I don’t want to freeze the positions.”
Yet Ferrari did come in for criticism from certain quarters, who suggested the intra team on track battle between Hamilton and Leclerc cost the Scuderia a shot at the race win. With the 2026 cars, on track battles are not the most efficient usage of the electrical energy available, and while the Ferrari pair dulled for lap after lap, the Mercedes cars were a second a lap quicker.
Once Hamilton had established a lead over Leclerc, the pace between Mercedes and the Ferraris was not too dissimilar. Whilst he prefers for now to let his drivers fight out out on track, to beat the silver arrows may required a more coordinated team effort in the coming races.
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