Rob Smedley: Lewis Hamilton got inside Charles Leclerc’s head at Canadian GP

Lewis Hamilton got inside the head of Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc at the Canadian Grand Prix, according to former Ferrari engineer Rob Smedley. Hamilton outqualified Leclerc twice and raced to a strong P2 finish, while Leclerc crossed the line 30 seconds behind in P4, later calling it “one of, if not the worst weekend of my career.”

Why it matters:

The intra-team battle at Ferrari is shaping up to be one of the season's key storylines. Hamilton's performance in Montreal not only cut Leclerc's points lead to just three but also signaled that the seven-time champion is finding his rhythm at Maranello—potentially shifting the balance of power within the team ahead of Leclerc's home race in Monaco.

The details:

• Hamilton, a record seven-time winner in Canada, finished runner-up after a late-race fight with Max Verstappen.
• Leclerc qualified eighth, three positions and a tenth behind Hamilton, and finished fourth—over 30 seconds adrift.
• Smedley, speaking on the High Performance Racing podcast, said: “He was quicker than Charles. That got inside Charles’ head, because all of a sudden he started to claim that he’d had the worst weekend of his career.”
• The engineer suggested Leclerc’s harsh self-assessment was influenced by Hamilton’s relative performance: “If Lewis had been three places further back, I wouldn’t have thought Charles would have referred to his weekend as being the worst of his career.”
• Hamilton also decided to skip the Ferrari simulator ahead of Canada, feeling it was leading him in the wrong direction. That decision paid off—Smedley noted with a laugh that “statistically it’s true that if you don’t go on the simulator, you’re on the podium.”

What's next:

Leclerc will head to his home race in Monaco with a slim three-point advantage over Hamilton. The psychological edge gained by Hamilton could prove crucial as Ferrari aims to challenge for race wins and potentially the championship. Monaco, where Leclerc has yet to win, will be a major test for both drivers and the team's internal dynamics.