Leclerc dismisses Hamilton sim theory, blames own confidence for Canada gap

Charles Leclerc has firmly rejected suggestions that Lewis Hamilton's standout performance at the Canadian Grand Prix was linked to stepping away from Ferrari's simulator. Instead, the Monegasque pointed to his own lack of confidence as the root cause of the 30-second gap between the two drivers.

Why it matters:

Hamilton's second-place finish in Montreal was his strongest showing in Ferrari red so far, cutting Leclerc's championship lead to just three points. The result also sparked questions about Ferrari's simulator programme after Hamilton admitted he had stopped using it before the weekend. Leclerc's rebuttal reframes the narrative around driver confidence rather than technical differences.

The details:

• Leclerc's stance: "There's none of the performance we are seeing today down to a setup," he said. "A setup is, you can say, there's a tenth in a setup... It's more about my feeling and just the way I drove today."
• Confidence issue: Leclerc explained that without the right feeling, he couldn't push the SF-26 to its limits around Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. "Not having the feeling, you don't push a car to its limits, and I can feel I'm completely off the pace."
• Hamilton's approach: The seven-time champion had revealed he stopped using Ferrari's simulator before the race, believing the virtual setup wasn't translating to the real car. That decision coincided with his best result of the season.

What's next:

Leclerc now heads to his home race in Monaco with his intra-team advantage reduced to three points. While Montreal reignited debate about Ferrari's simulator tools, the Monegasque insists the gap was purely in his own hands. Whether he can rediscover his confidence at Monaco will be key to keeping Hamilton at bay.