"Copy Hamilton": Leclerc Advised to Follow Teammate's Setup to Rediscover Form

Formula 1 veteran Riccardo Patrese believes Charles Leclerc's fastest path out of his current slump runs straight through Lewis Hamilton's garage. With Leclerc struggling since the Canadian Grand Prix and suffering consecutive non-finishes in Monaco and Barcelona, Patrese argues the Monegasque should replicate his teammate's setup to maximize Ferrari's race-winning package.

Why it matters:

Leclerc's decline couldn't come at a worse time for Ferrari, which finally appears to hold a genuine race-winning car. If he cannot arrest this slide immediately, he risks watching Hamilton cement himself as the team's undisputed leader and seeing his own championship hopes fade in a season where the machinery is capable of delivering wins.

The details:

• Patrese, speaking via a gambling platform, maintained that Leclerc remains an elite talent but has lost the confidence and mindset required to extract the maximum from Ferrari's current package.
• The former Williams driver suggested that on pure speed, Leclerc may still hold a slight edge over Hamilton, but that advantage means nothing without the right mental approach.
• Patrese explicitly encouraged Leclerc to follow Hamilton's technical direction, stating: "If you copy him, he will go quicker," while stressing that Ferrari now has a car that can win Grands Prix.
• The Italian cited Michael Schumacher's early career as proof that borrowing from teammates works, recalling how Schumacher copied Patrese's setup during their 1993 stint together before promptly beating him.
• Juan Pablo Montoya offered similar advice, urging Leclerc to study how Hamilton has elevated Ferrari since arriving and to understand what makes the seven-time champion so effective.

What's next:

Leclerc faces a pivotal stretch where he must either adapt his approach or risk being marginalized within his own team. The next few races will reveal whether he can absorb these lessons from Hamilton's experience and translate them into consistent results, or if his struggles will permanently shift Ferrari's internal balance toward his decorated teammate.