Lewis Hamilton vs Charles Leclerc: F1 mind games are working ahead of Monaco Grand Prix

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Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton Ferrari mind games are working ahead of Monaco Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton finished second in Canada

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Monday 1 June 2026 09:12

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Lewis Hamilton is said to have gotten well and truly into Charles Leclerc's head, just in time to plant a seed of doubt heading into the 2026 Monaco Grand Prix.

Hamilton finished second in Canada, over 30 seconds ahead of Leclerc, having also outqualified the Monegasque driver in sprint and main race qualifying earlier in the weekend.

It means that Hamilton has now only been beaten by a team-mate in qualifying at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on just three out of 17 occasions.

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This weekend, F1 returns to Monaco for the first European race of the season, at a circuit which is considered somewhat of a home track for most of the grid, but especially prominent on the calendar for 'the prince of Monaco', Charles Leclerc.

Hamilton got inside Leclerc's head

Former Ferrari star Rob Smedley has said Hamilton's record at Montreal would have played on Leclerc's mind from the start, resulting in what Leclerc described as his 'worst ever' F1 weekend.

“He’s always brought something special around Montreal,” Smedley said on the High Performance Racing podcast, discussing Hamilton’s best grand prix result with Ferrari that came last time out in Canada.

“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 in Formula 1.

“Clearly, I think if Lewis had been three places further back, I wouldn’t have thought that Charles would have referred to his weekend as being the worst weekend of his career.”

Will Hamilton repeat the trick in Monaco?

The F1 season heads to one of Leclerc's favourite tracks next for his home race around the principality.

Leclerc has three poles and a race win in Monaco, making it statistically one of his best tracks. But Hamilton himself has three victories around the streets of the principality.

Having dominated Leclerc in Canada, if Hamilton can beat him again in Monaco, then those mind games will undoubtedly be affecting Leclerc for the remainder of the season, as he looks to beat Hamilton in the drivers' championship once more.

The battle inside Ferrari is one of the most intriguing team-mate battles on the entire grid, particularly with Hamilton's upturn in form in 2026, as both drivers squabble over who is to be the Scuderia's main championship challenger in years to come.

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F1 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari Charles Leclerc Monaco Grand Prix Canadian Grand Prix