It was a story of mixed fortunes for the Ferrari drivers in Montreal. Lewis Hamilton thrived, while Charles Leclerc was left frustrated by his own performance.
Hamilton recorded a Ferrari-career-best grand prix finish of second at the Canadian Grand Prix. That came after Hamilton purposely suspended his use of the Ferrari simulator ahead of the race weekend. But, Leclerc does not put his comparative struggles against Hamilton in Montreal down to any setup difference between the Ferraris.
Lewis Hamilton setup theory hushed by Charles Leclerc
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While Hamilton has cut a happier and more competitive figure during F1 2026, it has been Leclerc with the upper hand for the majority of their time as Ferrari teammates.
But, Hamilton had the edge over Leclerc throughout the visit to Montreal. Leclerc went as far to call the Canadian GP one of the worst weekends of his career after qualifying eighth.
After a frustrating Miami Grand Prix, where Hamilton was off the pace of his teammate, the seven-time world champion declared that he would not use the Ferrari simulator before Montreal.
While Hamilton talked the Ferrari sim up as a piece of kit, he suggested that the virtual and real-life setups were not aligning for him.
It is important to note that Hamilton is a record-equalling seven-time winner of the Canadian Grand Prix. The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve therefore is a track where Hamilton has generally excelled.
But, Leclerc was asked whether Hamilton had found something that he did not with his SF-26 setup by not using the simulator.
“There’s none of the performance we are seeing today down to a setup,” Leclerc countered after crossing the line in fourth, over 30 seconds behind Hamilton.
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“A setup is, you can say, there’s a tenth in a setup, but at the end of the day, it’s not that much.
“I think in Formula 1 now we are speaking about such small details. So, no. No, no, no. It’s more about my feeling and just the way I drove today.
“Not having the feeling, you don’t push a car to its limits, and I can feel I’m completely off the pace. It’s not like I’m pushing, and then you can say, ‘Okay, the setup is not exactly where you want to be.’ By not having confidence on a day like this, I just didn’t push enough.”
Leclerc still holds the advantage over Hamilton in the F1 2026 Drivers’ standings, though the gap is down to three points going into Leclerc’s home race, the Monaco Grand Prix, this weekend.
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