The Canadian Grand Prix certainly left behind several fascinating and highly debated talking points, some immediately obvious and others much more complex beneath the surface. One of the biggest stories inside Ferrari was the striking difference in performance between its two drivers over the course of the entire weekend. At the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Lewis Hamilton looked incredibly fast and competitive throughout every single session, producing strong pace from the opening practice laps onward while also fighting through the field, overtaking rivals and holding off a certain Max Verstappen on his way to his best race result so far with Ferrari.
For Ferrari fans and Formula 1 observers, seeing Lewis Hamilton so comfortable inside the Ferrari SF26 was one of the most encouraging signs of the season. The seven-time Formula 1 world champion looked confident in low-speed corners, aggressive under braking and extremely composed during traction phases, which had often represented one of the weakest areas for him earlier in the season. The Canadian circuit seemed to unlock a much stronger version of Lewis Hamilton, one capable of finally extracting the full potential from the Ferrari package.
Charles Leclerc in huge trouble
Seeing Lewis Hamilton so competitive was already something notable given how rare it has been recently, but the situation became even more surprising when compared to the struggles experienced by Charles Leclerc on the other side of the Ferrari garage. The Monegasque driver was not simply slower than his teammate, which can naturally happen during a long Formula 1 season, but appeared completely uncomfortable with the Ferrari SF26 throughout the entire Canadian Grand Prix weekend.
Charles Leclerc later described the Montreal weekend as the worst of his Formula 1 career. He explained that during the closing stages of the race he had to back off significantly simply to avoid crashing into the walls. Over team radio before Q3, the Monegasque admitted that his feeling with the Ferrari SF26 was so poor that he believed he would either remain eighth or eventually end up in the barriers.
Fortunately for Charles Leclerc, he managed to secure eighth place while avoiding the unforgiving walls surrounding the Montreal circuit. Still, the obvious question remains: how can two Ferrari drivers in identical machinery experience such dramatically different levels of confidence and competitiveness?
Performance gaps are perfectly normal in Formula 1, especially during weekends with changing conditions, but it is far more unusual for one driver to feel completely at ease while the other struggles simply to keep the car on track. A deeper technical and psychological analysis reveals several factors that likely contributed to this extreme contrast between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.
The circuit: ideal for Lewis Hamilton, difficult for Charles Leclerc
The first explanation may simply involve the specific characteristics of the Canadian circuit itself. Driver preference for certain tracks can always play an important role, although probably not enough on its own to explain such a dramatic difference in confidence and pace between two teammates.
However, there was also a very important psychological aspect highlighted by Ferrari team principal Frédéric Vasseur after the race. According to Frédéric Vasseur, Charles Leclerc arrived in Montreal already carrying doubts because he had never truly felt comfortable or particularly competitive at the Canadian circuit in previous years.
Adding to those uncertainties was Ferrari’s own internal expectation that the Ferrari SF26 might not be especially competitive at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. That combination may have created a psychological barrier for Charles Leclerc, reducing his confidence while searching for the ideal setup and performance window throughout practice and qualifying.
It almost became a self-fulfilling prophecy, although there were also very clear technical reasons behind Ferrari’s contrasting performances in Canada. When a driver already arrives at a difficult circuit with reduced confidence levels, even small balance problems can quickly become amplified over the course of a race weekend.
Tyre temperature window was absolutely crucial
Canada was also the first race weekend in quite some time where tyre temperature management returned as one of the key performance differentiators between both cars and drivers. The stop-and-go nature of the Montreal circuit almost completely eliminated the energy management limitations seen at other tracks, allowing drivers to recover nearly all available energy under braking zones.
At the same time, the circuit layout features almost no high-speed corners and uses a very smooth, worn asphalt surface, making it extremely difficult to generate tyre temperature naturally through cornering loads. Those conditions became even more challenging as ambient temperatures steadily dropped throughout the weekend, eventually reaching around 10 to 12 degrees Celsius during the race itself.
That combination created an incredibly narrow tyre operating window which was difficult not only to reach consistently, but also to maintain over a long stint. Yet tyre temperature became absolutely critical for extracting performance from the Ferrari SF26.
Whenever tyres fall outside their ideal operating range, drivers immediately lose confidence under braking, during turn-in and especially on corner exit traction. That appears to be exactly what happened to Charles Leclerc throughout most of the Canadian Grand Prix weekend.
Brake heat management
To compensate for those difficult conditions, Formula 1 teams rely heavily on brake-generated heat. If managed correctly, the extremely hot air coming from the brake discs can be redirected toward the wheel rims and tyres to help generate additional temperature and maintain tyre performance.
Ferrari experimented aggressively with similar concepts in previous seasons, although those approaches sometimes caused major brake-related issues. One clear example was the Singapore Grand Prix last year, when Lewis Hamilton reportedly struggled heavily with braking performance late in the race.
Ferrari’s approach on the Ferrari SF26 now appears far less extreme than before, but the current setup seems to suit Lewis Hamilton’s driving style much better. The seven-time Formula 1 world champion has always been particularly skilled at using brake balance adjustments and other advanced techniques to control heat distribution around the car.
One famous example was the “Brake Magic” system that Lewis Hamilton frequently used during reconnaissance laps at Mercedes, including during the dramatic 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend. The Briton has historically been extremely sensitive to brake temperatures and tyre preparation techniques, particularly in colder conditions where maximizing front tyre confidence becomes essential.
A technique Charles Leclerc never fully embraced
On the opposite side of the Ferrari garage, Charles Leclerc never appeared fully comfortable with this style of brake and heat management. It did not seem coincidental that his first major complaint during the Canadian weekend, beginning in Sprint qualifying, was related specifically to braking issues.
While it could simply have been an isolated problem or unfortunate coincidence, the impression was that something in the way Ferrari was redistributing brake heat was not functioning in a manner Charles Leclerc could consistently manage. That issue appeared to affect him both in warmer conditions earlier in the weekend and later in the colder race conditions when tyre temperatures remained unstable and difficult to predict.
Interestingly, Lewis Hamilton had already shown stronger performances in cooler conditions earlier this season in China, suggesting that his advantage in Montreal may not have been accidental at all. The evidence increasingly points toward Lewis Hamilton naturally adapting better to the Ferrari SF26 whenever tyre preparation and heat management become decisive factors.
Rear-end mechanics and driving style
Another important difference between Ferrari’s two drivers appeared to involve rear-end stability and mechanical setup philosophy. Montreal’s aggressive kerbs and traction-heavy layout require a softer rear suspension setup, creating a car balance that tends to favor stability and understeer rather than oversteer.
That characteristic plays directly into the contrasting driving styles of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. The Monegasque driver generally feels more comfortable managing a nervous and reactive rear end, while Lewis Hamilton traditionally prefers a rear axle that feels planted, predictable and stable under traction.
The impression throughout the entire weekend was that the British driver quickly found the ideal setup direction for the Ferrari SF26, allowing him to remain within a car balance window that naturally suited his driving preferences and strengths.
Charles Leclerc, meanwhile, appeared to move toward a setup with a less stable rear end compared to Lewis Hamilton, likely attempting to compensate for the braking and tyre issues he had already encountered. However, that direction eventually became too difficult to control consistently over long runs.
Charles Leclerc’s setup gamble backfired
The massive rear-end slide suffered by Charles Leclerc late in the race clearly demonstrated how consistently outside the tyre operating window the rear tyres had become. The tyres responded poorly under traction, and on a circuit dominated by heavy braking and acceleration zones, the Monegasque found himself struggling in exactly the areas where confidence matters most.
The result was an alarming lack of trust in the Ferrari SF26, ultimately leading the 28-year-old to describe the Canadian Grand Prix as the worst weekend of his Formula 1 career. When a Formula 1 driver loses confidence in rear stability under braking and acceleration, lap time losses quickly become substantial.
Lewis Hamilton, on the other hand, appeared increasingly comfortable as the weekend progressed. His race pace remained stable, his tyre degradation looked manageable and he finally seemed capable of attacking with confidence in wheel-to-wheel battles.
Lewis Hamilton may have solved Ferrari’s rear-end weakness
Finally, it is worth noting that Lewis Hamilton has actually felt relatively comfortable with the Ferrari SF26 since the beginning of the season, even if he had not always managed to translate that feeling into strong race performances. One of his biggest frustrations earlier in the year involved the rear-end mechanics and a lack of traction that prevented him from finding the level of grip and stability he prefers.
Despite good confidence through medium and high-speed corners, Ferrari had continued struggling with traction-related limitations linked to rear stiffness settings and differential tuning. However, that trend now appears to be changing in recent races.
Lewis Hamilton himself recently suggested that Ferrari had made significant progress and hinted that he had helped guide the team toward better technical solutions. The impression coming out of Canada is that at least part of the rear-end instability that previously limited Lewis Hamilton has now been addressed successfully.
Ferrari’s internal battle could become much closer
All of this could lead to a far more balanced fight between Ferrari’s two drivers during the remainder of the Formula 1 season. Such a scenario would likely benefit Ferrari overall, but it could also prove valuable for Charles Leclerc, who now finds himself alongside a teammate capable of providing a much stronger benchmark than in previous years.
If the seven-time world champion continues building confidence with the Ferrari SF26 while Ferrari further improves rear-end stability and traction characteristics, the internal battle inside the Maranello team could become one of the most fascinating storylines of the Formula 1 season.
For Ferrari, having both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc consistently fighting near the front would represent a major step forward in the team’s long-term development process. At the same time, the Canadian Grand Prix demonstrated just how sensitive the current Ferrari package still is to tyre temperatures, setup direction and driver confidence.
Montreal may ultimately prove to be a turning point, not only for Lewis Hamilton’s adaptation to Ferrari, but also for the balance of power between the two Ferrari teammates as the Formula 1 season continues.
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