Scuderia Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc remains confident that the Maranello-based team will develop the 2026 Formula 1 car in a way that suits both himself and seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton. Despite the British driver’s arrival at Ferrari in 2025 and the expectations surrounding his influence, Charles Leclerc believes the team will take a balanced and technologically informed approach when designing the next-generation car.
Charles Leclerc has not been psychologically affected by Lewis Hamilton’s highly anticipated move to Ferrari, even though such a change in the team could have potentially unsettled him. However, the Monegasque driver appears unfazed. In fact, Lewis Hamilton’s first season with the Scuderia has turned out to be below expectations, partly due to the underperformance of the SF-25, which has failed to consistently challenge Red Bull Racing and McLaren at the front of the grid.
When a driver of Lewis Hamilton’s caliber joins a team—especially a seven-time Formula 1 World Champion—he naturally brings with him a vast amount of experience, technical insight, and a different development philosophy shaped by years of success with Mercedes. It would be reasonable to expect that such an influential figure might cause the team to pivot their focus entirely toward his preferences, especially with the all-new technical regulations arriving in 2026. There has been speculation that Ferrari might be tempted to build its future car around Hamilton’s driving style, possibly to the detriment of Charles Leclerc.
Yet Charles Leclerc remains unconcerned by this scenario. Speaking to RacingNews365, the Monegasque driver stated that he is not worried about the 2026 development favoring Lewis Hamilton, emphasizing that Ferrari has the resources and tools to accommodate both drivers’ needs.
“I’m really not worried at all, because this is something people discuss a lot outside the team,” Charles Leclerc explained. “But inside the team, we have all the tools we need to develop a car that works for both my driving style and Lewis’s. So I don’t see it as a problem. I just want the fastest car possible for next year. That’s exactly what Lewis wants too. Then, wherever we find ourselves in 2026, I’ll fine-tune the car to my preferences, and Lewis will do the same for his.”
Charles Leclerc’s comments underline his trust in Ferrari’s engineering team and the current technological advancements in Formula 1. He pointed out that today’s F1 cars are far more adaptable than they were a decade or more ago, making it easier for teams to tailor setups for individual drivers—even if they have different driving styles.
“All our focus is already on 2026,” Leclerc added, “because that’s the year when Ferrari must become truly competitive again. We’ve gone through another regulatory cycle where the team has struggled to keep pace with the top contenders, and now we need to reverse that.”
He continued: “Honestly, I’m not worried. We’re in an era where, thanks to our engineers and the current level of technology in Formula 1, our job is simply to build the fastest possible car. Once we put that on track, we have full freedom to adapt it to the specific needs of each driver.
It’s not like it was 10 or 15 years ago when, if you didn’t like how the car was balanced, there wasn’t much you could do to improve it. Back then, the tools were limited. Now, we have everything we need, so I’m absolutely not concerned.”
These remarks make it clear that Charles Leclerc is not feeling threatened by Lewis Hamilton’s presence within the team. On the contrary, he remains focused on performance and confident in Ferrari’s ability to deliver a competitive car that can meet the demands of both drivers.
Furthermore, his 2025 Formula 1 season results support his confidence. Despite the hype around Lewis Hamilton’s arrival, the Monegasque driver has consistently finished ahead of his new teammate in most races so far this year, further reinforcing his leadership status within the team.
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