Ferrari have been chasing their first Formula 1 drivers’ championship since 2008, and in 2026 the Scuderia boasts two drivers with genuine title ambitions: Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. After years of near misses, Ferrari are determined to compete at the very top, aiming to end their long wait for a championship success.
Although Mercedes currently lead the constructors’ championship, Ferrari have shown strong form, finishing third and fourth in both the opening Grand Prix events. The Italian team is already preparing significant car updates, confident they can close the gap to the Silver Arrows as the season progresses.
Lewis Hamilton marginally outperformed Charles Leclerc during the Chinese Grand Prix weekend and finished just within a second of his teammate at the Australian Grand Prix. This early season performance highlights the competitive balance between the two Ferrari drivers, setting up an intriguing intra-team rivalry as the championship unfolds.
How Ferrari might handle a title fight between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc
Journalist Chris Medland explained to Off The Ball how Ferrari could approach a situation where both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc find themselves in genuine championship contention. Medland suggested that the Italian squad would not automatically prioritise one driver over the other, contrasting sharply with historical team orders that shaped past title battles.
According to Medland, Ferrari would likely allow the championship to develop naturally, rather than impose early team orders favoring one driver. He noted that only at the “business end” of the season—if one driver clearly has a stronger chance of winning the title—might Ferrari make tactical decisions to support the leading contender. Until that point, the team would treat Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc on an even footing, letting performance on track dictate results.
Medland added that it would be extremely difficult for Ferrari to instruct Lewis Hamilton, a seven-time world champion, to play second fiddle to Charles Leclerc, who has waited his whole career for the opportunity to challenge for a championship in a top Ferrari car. He explained that the team’s priority is fairness and performance-based results, rather than recreating the hierarchical driver structure that existed under Michael Schumacher.
Why Lewis Hamilton won’t get the Schumacher treatment
Michael Schumacher’s tenure at Ferrari is legendary, with five consecutive world titles secured alongside a very compliant teammate in Rubens Barrichello. The Brazilian, who won nine races compared to Schumacher’s 72, often sacrificed his own race victories to support Michael Schumacher’s championship campaigns, including handing over the win at the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix due to team orders. Such a dynamic created an unparalleled number one/number two hierarchy within Ferrari.
It is widely understood that no Ferrari principal, including Fred Vasseur, would impose a similar scenario on Lewis Hamilton or Charles Leclerc so early in the season. Both drivers have proven their speed and consistency, and the team intends to allow them to compete freely until it becomes absolutely necessary to consider team strategy. Only if one driver falls out of title contention could Ferrari potentially adopt a more traditional one-driver prioritization, though this remains speculative at this stage.
The legacy challenge: following in Schumacher’s footsteps
Despite Kimi Raikkonen being the last Ferrari driver to win a championship, every driver at Maranello aspires to emulate Michael Schumacher’s dominance. While Schumacher benefited from Barrichello’s support, modern F1 dynamics and the presence of two equally strong contenders in Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc make repeating such a scenario highly unlikely. Ferrari’s approach focuses on maximizing race results and team performance, rather than creating a predetermined hierarchy.
While Lewis Hamilton could find himself in a championship battle with his Maranello teammate, Ferrari are expected to manage the situation with fairness and strategic intelligence. The team is likely to allow performance and race results to dictate outcomes, reserving any form of driver prioritization for the very end of the season if it becomes unavoidable. This approach ensures that both drivers have the opportunity to compete on merit, preserving the competitive integrity of Ferrari’s championship campaign.
