Leclerc crisis and super-Hamilton: why there is such a difference between Ferrari drivers in Canada

That Hamilton in Canada The Canadian Grand Prix certainly left a trail of interesting themes behind it, some immediate, others at first sight less banal to understand. One of these is what happened at Ferrari, with a particularly evident difference in performance between the two drivers. On the circuit named after Gilles Villeneuve we saw a splendidly fast Lewis Hamilton, in all the sessions, also capable of recovering, overtaking and holding on against a certain Max Verstappen, to go on to take his best position in the race with the red one. Leclerc in enormous difficulty Seeing Hamilton so fast is already something that has unfortunately become a rarity, but the question becomes even more curious if we consider that his teammate was not only slower, which can also happen, but he was actually in enormous difficulty. Charles Leclerc himself talks about his worst weekend of his career. The Monegasque said he led the final laps of the race by pulling on the oars to avoid hitting the wall. Over the radio in qualifying, immediately before Q3, he said that the feeling with the car was so poor that he would either confirm eighth place or end up in the wall. Fortunately for him he ranked eighth, remaining at a safe distance from the nearby walls of Montreal. But how do you explain such a difference in feeling between two drivers of the same car? That there is a difference is normal, but that one feels completely confident while the other is unable to stay on the road is curious to say the least. By trying to analyze more deeply we identified some of the factors that played a role. The track: preferred by Hamilton, hated by Leclerc The first thought may simply be that of a particular preference (or aversion) for the Canadian track. This may be a factor, although unlikely to justify the difference in feeling seen over the course of the weekend. However, there is a psychological aspect that must still be kept in mind and which emerged from Vasseur’s words to Sky’s microphones after the match. In fact, the Ferrari TP said that already upon arriving in Canada Leclerc had some insecurities due to the fact that he had never really found good performances on the Montreal track. To this it must be added that Ferrari itself thought it was not particularly competitive. A small psychological “bug” that may have crept into Leclerc’s mind, taking away a part of his serenity in the search for the best set-up and performance. A sort of self-fulfilling prophecy, as it is defined in psychology, to which, however, from our point of view, some more direct technical reasons must be added. Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images Fundamental tire window The premise must be made that this weekend in Canada was the first weekend where the tire temperature window as a differentiating factor between the performances of the various single-seaters (and between the various drivers) was once again widely discussed. The track with its strong “stop&go” characteristic has in fact almost eliminated the problems relating to energy management. This allowed the drivers to recover practically all that could be recovered from the numerous and intense braking sessions. The shape of the track also features an almost total absence of high-speed corners and a particularly worn and therefore smooth asphalt, making it incredibly complicated to give energy to the tires during corners to bring them up to temperature. All this combined with an ambient temperature that from Friday onwards continued to drop to around 10-12 degrees during the Grand Prix. A deadly combination of factors that made the tire usage window extremely difficult to hit first and then maintain, but at the same time a crucial factor for performance itself. Heat management through the brakes To overcome these complicated conditions, one of the resources that teams draw on the most is the heat generated by the brakes. In fact, if appropriately redirected and reused, the very high temperature air that comes out of the discs can be immersed in the circle and used to make up for the general lack of heat. A common stratagem, which Ferrari had attempted to bring to very high levels in recent seasons but generating major problems with the brakes. Just think of the ordeal race in Singapore last season with Hamilton even finding himself unable to brake in the final laps. The approach on the SF26 seemed decidedly less extreme, and all the work seems to have moved into territory that was decidedly more congenial to Hamilton. The Englishman is very accustomed to the particular use of braking distribution and other stratagems for the purpose of redirecting heat, just remember the famous “Brake Magic” button that was used on his Mercedes on reconnaissance laps (and which cost him the 2021 world championship in Baku). Indigestible technique for Leclerc On the other hand, Leclerc never seemed to be particularly comfortable with this technique, and it doesn’t seem like a coincidence that starting from the Sprint qualifying the main problem with which the Monegasque made his debut in the Canadian weekend is precisely with the brakes. Of course it could be a coincidence, but the impression is that something about the reuse of brake heat wasn’t working properly. Or at least, in a way that Leclerc was able to manage as best as possible both in the first two days with higher temperatures and then in the race with an always unstable tire temperature condition. However, we had seen that Hamilton performed better in lower temperatures in China, and this absolutely does not seem like a coincidence. Photo by ANDREJ IVANOV / AFP via Getty Images The mechanics of the rear axle and the driving style The other aspect that seemed different between the two drivers of the red is the management of the rear of the car, and in particular the mechanical set-up. The Montreal track with high curbs and the need for “explosive” traction requires a certain softness at the rear. The rear tends to be particularly “planted” to the ground, with a tendency towards understeer rather than oversteer. Here the different driving style between Hamilton and Leclerc comes into play with the Monegasque much more at ease when he has to manage a dancing rear end compared to Hamilton who prefers it planted on the ground. The impression is that from this point of view the seven-time world champion immediately found the key to taming the car, having margin to remain in an area of ​​the setup that was still very congenial to him. Leclerc’s mistake On the other hand Leclerc, after having to fight with the brakes, seemed to try to move the set-up point of his car with a proportionally less strong rear compared to Hamilton but with a response from the car that ended up getting out of hand. The huge crash at the end of the race was a clear symptom of how the rear tires were constantly out of window. The tires responded particularly poorly during traction. Leclerc, on a track full of braking and traction, found himself having enormous difficulties in both phases, ending up with such a low level of confidence that he talked about his worst weekend in Formula 1. Hamilton solved the problems with the rear axle. Finally, it must be said that Hamilton has had excellent sensations from the SF26 since the start of the season but has not always managed to find the best fit, especially in the race, due to rear axle mechanics that did not allow him to have the level of preferred grip. Between the level of stiffness and some calibrations (such as the differential) the traction phase has always remained lacking, despite a good feeling when cornering. The trend seems to have changed in this phase, with Hamilton himself speaking of important steps forward and of having guided the team towards better solutions, so the impression is that part of the problem that initially afflicted him has been solved. The Ferrari derby promises to be hot. This means that we could see a decidedly more balanced season between the two Ferrari drivers, and it is something that can certainly be good for the red team, but also for Leclerc, who finds himself next to a much better reference than last season.

Automobile Magazine – F1 English News , 2026-05-27 18:30:00