The atmosphere inside Ferrari has changed dramatically compared to 12 months ago. As the team heads to Silverstone, one statistic perfectly illustrates the shift: Lewis Hamilton has doubled the number of championship points he had at this stage of the 2025 Formula 1 season, while Charles Leclerc’s tally has remained exactly the same.
Ferrari’s changing fortunes: Hamilton rises, Leclerc stalls
Lewis Hamilton’s fourth-place finish at Silverstone in 2025, behind Nico Hülkenberg, drew plenty of criticism. Although the result matched his best finish of the season at the time, seeing the German secure the first podium of his Formula 1 career with Kick Sauber while the seven-time world champion missed out inevitably raised questions, especially given Ferrari’s enormous investment to bring Hamilton to Maranello.
That weekend, the Briton was hoping to secure his first podium with Ferrari while extending his remarkable run of top-three finishes at Silverstone to ten consecutive years. However, the SF-25 simply did not suit his driving style, forcing him to wait until the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix before finally ending that podium drought.
One year later, however, the picture looks completely different. Hamilton has not only claimed his first Formula 1 podium as a Ferrari driver, but has also added a victory to his tally with his triumph in Barcelona. Much of that progress appears to stem from a far stronger connection with the SF-26 and perhaps an improved adaptation to the new generation of Formula 1 regulations.
The numbers underline just how significant that transformation has been.
The statistics tell the story
After the opening eight race weekends of the 2026 season, Lewis Hamilton has collected 125 championship points—exactly double the 63 points he had after the same stage of the 2025 campaign.
Charles Leclerc’s situation is very different. The Monegasque has accumulated exactly the same number of points as he had one year ago: 79.
Now Ferrari heads to Silverstone, a circuit where Hamilton has enjoyed extraordinary success throughout his career. The British driver holds the all-time record with nine victories at the British Grand Prix, more wins at a single Formula 1 circuit than any other driver in history.
Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc’s recent difficulties have become increasingly apparent, extending beyond performance alone and into technical discussions within the team. The Ferrari driver publicly blamed the Brembo brake discs after recent races and eventually followed the same braking solution Lewis Hamilton has been using since Suzuka.
So far, however, the change has not delivered the desired results. Charles Leclerc crashed during qualifying at Barcelona and later struggled under braking and during race pace at the Red Bull Ring.
His recent form highlights the challenge he faces. Across the last three Formula 1 race weekends, Charles Leclerc has scored just four championship points. During that same period, not only the established frontrunners but also Pierre Gasly, Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad have all outscored the Ferrari driver.
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