While Charles Leclerc looks forward to his home race in Monaco with little hope, his teammate Lewis Hamilton is busy with very different things. Ferrari is disappointing, but the two drivers are dealing with it differently: the difference between already proven and still having to prove.
Especially the contrast between what was said last week in Imola was striking. Where Leclerc did not mince words about his frustrations with his slow car and a qualifying outside the top ten, Hamilton seemed to mainly enjoy his first appearance for the ‘tifosi’.
The red sea of Ferrari fans along the track had made a deep impression on him. Earlier this season, Hamilton himself was also upset about the lack of pace in the Ferrari, but he seems to have resigned himself to that now.
It is the difference between a seven-time world champion who has already won and proven everything and clearly sees Ferrari as a ‘tick’ towards the end of his career and Leclerc, who has never been able to seriously compete for the title with the team. That is not possible again this year, which increases his frustrations.
The honeymoon that seemed to be completed with Hamilton in Miami has been resumed with the return to Europe. “Every weekend there is something new,” he said on Thursday, visibly positive. “Last week was the first European race and therefore also my first time in our traveling accommodation. I still had to get to know it completely. Here in Monaco, for the first time in that red pit box. I had never been in the Ferrari pit box here before.”
“And of course I’m curious to see how the Ferrari drives here. They always did very well here. Charles in particular, of course,” Hamilton looked ahead to the race.
‘Chances are very small’
Leclerc is in a different game. More negative especially. He already has a fairly clear picture of the chances of a repeat of his pole and victory in 2024. An emotional victory, with a dive into the harbor as a result. These are the highlights that Leclerc has to live on as an eternal promise, but that is not really in the cards this year.
“No, those chances are very small. Our car has been bad in slow corners all season. And here you only have slow corners. That is really a specific weakness this year. So I would be surprised if we can do better than we estimate ourselves,” was his cold preview. “I also don’t know what’s wrong. I wish I knew.”
Is there no hope at all then? Yes, there is: “The only difference is that you can fully adjust your car here to those slow corners. A compromise is not necessary,” said Leclerc.
Moreover, he is also counting on his own abilities a bit. “I also took pole here in 2021, with a car that was actually just as bad as this one. So there is a chance,” he looked for a starting point. “And I always do well on street circuits. As a driver, you can make the difference here. I also have less to lose now, so I can go full throttle where others might manage a bit more.”
Too early to focus on 2026
But the bottom line remains that Ferrari is disappointing and that last year’s daily successes and even a battle for the constructors’ title are far away. The question is whether the team should not already be fully focused on the completely new car of 2026.
“No, we are not going to give up this season yet. We cannot afford that, it is too early. Last year, everything changed during the season,” Leclerc pointed to McLaren’s advance.
The focus is mainly on Barcelona, where the FIA will introduce stricter tests for wing deflection next week. “That will be very important for us. We will see there whether it helps us. I think we will be less affected by it than other teams, or that the gap will at least become a bit smaller. I don’t expect a game changer, but I hope it makes a small difference.”
Ferrari is also coming up with some other interventions to the car. If that does not offer a solution, then the button must still be switched to 2026. “Fred (team boss Fred Vasseur, ed.) will have to decide that. Next year will be a very important season.”
‘Was QUITE Nervous’
That reality will undoubtedly also return to Hamilton in Monaco or in the coming weeks. But on Thursday it became clear that as a forty-year-old established star of the sport, he is in a different career phase than Leclerc.
It was mainly about the Formula 1 film with Brad Pitt, in which Hamilton is closely involved. That was shown to all drivers (minus Max Verstappen) in Monaco on Wednesday evening. “I was quite nervous about that. I was curious what the reactions would be,” Hamilton admitted.
Hamilton can breathe a sigh of relief. The drivers were full of praise on Thursday. Without exception, they mentioned that it is “really a Hollywood film”, but also that it is “very realistic” for a racing film. That film project will be successful. Now his much-discussed move to Ferrari is still to come.