Jolyon Palmer has questioned Ferrari’s decision not to move Charles Leclerc aside for Lewis Hamilton during the 2026 Belgian Grand Prix, arguing that the team should have allowed its higher-placed championship contender an opportunity to attack Max Verstappen.
Lewis Hamilton reported that he had more pace while running directly behind Charles Leclerc during the opening phase at Spa-Francorchamps. Ferrari nevertheless chose not to intervene, leaving its drivers to fight on track as Charles Leclerc defended third place and Lewis Hamilton remained unable to launch an attack on the Red Bull ahead.
Ferrari’s Belgian GP team-order decision questioned
Charles Leclerc arrived at Spa with growing momentum after winning the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. He followed that victory with second place in Belgium, while Lewis Hamilton recovered to finish fourth despite receiving a five-second penalty and carrying damage from his opening-lap collision with George Russell.
The result reduced Lewis Hamilton’s advantage over Charles Leclerc in the drivers’ championship to 33 points. Lewis Hamilton also moved ahead of George Russell into second place in the standings, while Charles Leclerc remained fourth.
Ferrari’s two drivers started fourth and fifth, with Charles Leclerc immediately ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Both benefited from George Russell dropping out of contention, although the Mercedes driver had already fallen behind the Ferraris before contact with Lewis Hamilton sent him into the gravel and ended his race.
The team-mate battle intensified around a quarter of the way through the Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton closed onto Charles Leclerc and attempted to pass at the Les Combes chicane, but the Monegasque driver defended firmly and maintained the position. The tense exchange formed part of a broader Ferrari battle that brought the two cars close together at Spa.
Lewis Hamilton wanted a chance to attack Max Verstappen
After remaining behind his team-mate, Lewis Hamilton informed Ferrari that he believed he had more pace. The message effectively invited the team to consider exchanging the positions so he could attempt to close the approximately one-second gap to Max Verstappen.
Ferrari did not act on the request. At that stage, Lewis Hamilton had already been handed a five-second penalty for causing the collision that ended George Russell’s race. Charles Leclerc, meanwhile, was under investigation following contact with Oscar Piastri, although the stewards ultimately took no further action against the Ferrari driver.
Analysing the situation for F1 TV on lap 13, Jolyon Palmer argued that Ferrari would have been wise to allow Lewis Hamilton through. The former Formula 1 driver believed Charles Leclerc should either demonstrate that he could close the gap to Max Verstappen or temporarily surrender the position, with Ferrari retaining the option to reverse the order later.
Jolyon Palmer noted that Charles Leclerc was close enough to see Max Verstappen ahead but was not applying meaningful pressure. In his assessment, releasing Lewis Hamilton could have forced the Red Bull driver to defend or change his approach, giving Ferrari an opportunity to test whether its other car could make progress.
The F1 TV analyst also highlighted Lewis Hamilton’s stronger championship position. As Ferrari’s leading driver in the standings, Lewis Hamilton potentially had more to gain from being given an opportunity to attack Max Verstappen rather than remaining behind Charles Leclerc.
Charles Leclerc ultimately pulled clear of Lewis Hamilton
Ferrari’s decision was supported by the pace that Charles Leclerc produced over the following laps. Before the virtual safety car period, he had extended his advantage over Lewis Hamilton to 3.3 seconds, reducing the immediate case for a position swap.
Lewis Hamilton later attempted to chase down Max Verstappen during the closing stages, but the Ferrari driver eventually lacked the speed required to challenge for the final podium position. His race had also been compromised by damage sustained in the collision with George Russell and by a missed front-wing adjustment during his pit stop.
The failed adjustment affected the car’s balance after Ferrari changed tyre compounds, adding another complication to Lewis Hamilton’s afternoon. A detailed examination of how the missed front-wing change affected Lewis Hamilton’s race pace explains why his performance fluctuated during the final stint.
Charles Leclerc continued at the front and secured second place behind Kimi Antonelli, with Max Verstappen completing the podium. Lewis Hamilton crossed the line fourth, giving Ferrari a combined result that represented valuable damage limitation despite the collision, penalty and pit-stop problems. The team’s complete race is covered in the Ferrari Belgian Grand Prix review.
Hamilton and Leclerc rivalry complicates Ferrari’s title strategy
The Spa debate followed other close encounters between the Ferrari drivers. Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc made contact several times during the Austrian Grand Prix, although neither car was damaged in those exchanges.
Those incidents have shown how closely matched the pair can be and how difficult it may become for Ferrari to manage their competition as the season progresses. Jolyon Palmer had previously argued that the team should prioritise Lewis Hamilton to maximise its chances of challenging Mercedes for the championship.
That position is now harder to sustain. Charles Leclerc’s Silverstone victory and Spa podium have reduced the deficit to Lewis Hamilton significantly, while also demonstrating that he remains capable of producing major results for Ferrari. With only 33 points separating the two drivers, Charles Leclerc is no longer far enough behind for Ferrari to treat him purely as a supporting figure.
The team must therefore balance two competing priorities: protecting Lewis Hamilton’s stronger championship position and allowing Charles Leclerc to pursue his own increasingly credible campaign. Jolyon Palmer believed a temporary swap at Spa would have served Ferrari’s immediate interests, but Charles Leclerc’s subsequent ability to pull clear showed why the decision was not straightforward.
Ferrari’s underlying performance also suggests that both drivers may continue to have opportunities at the front. Although Charles Leclerc was unable to convert his challenge into a second consecutive victory, an analysis of why Ferrari missed the Spa win and what the result means for its progress points to reasons for encouragement beyond the final classification.
For now, Ferrari has avoided publicly committing to a clear number-one driver. As Charles Leclerc continues to close the gap to Lewis Hamilton, however, similar strategic decisions are likely to become more difficult rather than easier.
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