The one F1 team-mate that Lewis Hamilton failed to dominate

Lewis Hamilton looking at a celebrating George Russell with severity — Photo: © IMAGO

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The one F1 team-mate that Lewis Hamilton failed to dominate

Hamilton boasts a dominant record over team-mates, but one in particular showed him up

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Friday 19 June 2026 14:58

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Lewis Hamilton is back on top at Ferrari after a weekend which cemented him as the Scuderia's number one driver and highlighted a new low for team-mate Charles Leclerc.

The seven-time champion finally returned to winning ways at the Barcelona Grand Prix, picking up his 106th grand prix victory and first for Ferrari.

As a result, the world of F1 is now running away with the idea that Hamilton could pick up his eighth title in red, all while Leclerc is coming to terms with the fact that Barcelona saw him suffer his second DNF in as many races.

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Leclerc got the better of his new team-mate in 2025, finishing the season P5 in the championship with 242 points, whilst Hamilton had to settle for P6 in the standings with only 156 points to his name.

But as Leclerc continues to flail and Hamilton looks to have found the perfect balance at the Scuderia, the Monegasque star looks set to join the long list of drivers who have been dominated by the F1 superstar.

Though there is one driver who well and truly got the better of Hamilton during their time as team-mates.

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Russell was 'anomaly' in Hamilton's team-mate domination record

Reflecting on Hamilton's win in Spain last time out, former F1 engineer Rob Smedley turned his attention to Hamilton's past form beating team-mates on the High Performance Podcast.

“He knows how to beat team-mates year in, year out, right? He knows. And Nico Rosberg went through all of that pain to beat him, but still had, I would say, the balance of luck that year," Smedley began.

"I mean, Lewis stopped a lot of times that year. He had a lot of failures, right? And he still only just nicked it.

“So, I think that Lewis spent a long time now dominating team-mates."

Smedley, who was previously Felipe Massa's race engineer at Ferrari then noted that in his opinion, George Russell was the only driver to ever truly show Hamilton up during their time as team-mates.

Reflecting on the duo's stint at the Silver Arrows, Smedley said: "The anomaly in all of that was George Russell. George Russell towards the end of his time in Mercedes, because George actually delivered against Lewis. Two years in a row”.

Should Ferrari favour Hamilton after Barcelona?

Podcast host Jake Humphrey then added that after Hamilton’s win in Barcelona, Fred Vasseur and Ferrari as a whole should be backing the Brit over his current team-mate Leclerc.

"I just wonder if you're at Ferrari and you're a senior leader there. If Fred's looking at a seven-time world champion against a guy that's never won a world title, and if he's looking at a guy that's put the car in the wall two or three times already this season against a guy who looks on brilliant form. And if you look at Lewis Hamilton who is second in the championship and Charles Leclerc who is I believe the same distance from the leader as he is from Pierre Gasly in terms of points...isn't there a moment where you all just go, s*** man, let's get behind Lewis?"

F1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes George Russell