Charles Leclerc says F1 team-mate Lewis Hamilton cannot make him change his Ferrari approach

Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton, China, 2026 — Photo: © IMAGO

Ferrari

Charles Leclerc says Lewis Hamilton cannot make him change his Ferrari approach

Leclerc won't follow Hamilton's approach

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Monday 8 June 2026 13:57 Updated: 15:21

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Charles Leclerc isn't using his seven-time champion Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton as a reference points in regards to F1 race preparation.

At the Canadian Grand Prix earlier this month, Hamilton revealed his choice to abandon the Ferrari simulator, where he said: "With simulations, I feel that the goalposts are always moving.

“Last year I used it every week and more often than not, I felt that you do all the work on the sim and you find a set-up that you’re comfortable with, you get to the track and everything’s opposite so you’re undoing the things you’ve learned.

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“Some of the ways you approach the corners, you have to shift and adjust. The set-up that you felt was good on the simulator is not the same as the track sometimes. Sometimes it is, so it’s kind of hit and miss.

“I just decided for this one, I was going to sit it out and focus more on the data. There was just a lot of deep diving on through-corner balance, mechanical balance, corner approaches, brake balance, optimising the brakes – which has been a problem for me for some time. That’s led to really good integration with my engineers.”

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Leclerc: Hamilton approach doesn't impact me

When asked his opinion on Hamilton's simulator approach prior to last weekend's Monaco GP where Leclerc crashed out and the Brit secured P2, the Monegasque driver revealed he won't change his preparation because of the seven-time world champion's preference.

"It doesn't affect my preparation at all," he explained.

"At the end, I think we all have our preferences. For me, the simulator has been working very well.

"This is what I've done since arriving in Formula 1. I'm not going to change that because it's been a very powerful tool for me in the past.

"Also, very often we do changes on the car based on what we try on the simulator back at home, so it's part of the developing process of the car. Yeah, it works for me, so I'll keep going there."

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F1 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari Charles Leclerc