F1 News: Ferrari 'must choose' Lewis Hamilton over Charles Leclerc to challenge Mercedes in title fight

Ferrari

Ferrari 'must choose' Lewis Hamilton over Charles Leclerc to challenge Mercedes in F1 title fight

Lewis Hamilton is hoping to challenge for an eighth world title

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Saturday 20 June 2026 17:46

A former F1 world champion has claimed that Ferrari must focus on Lewis Hamilton if they want to be in with a shout of a first championship title of any kind since 2008.

Hamilton and Charles Leclerc have been squabbling to become Ferrari's next championship challenger ever since seven-time champion Hamilton joined the team back in January 2025.

Leclerc seemed to have the beating of his team-mate last year, finishing 86 points ahead of Hamilton and claiming seven grand prix podiums while Hamilton failed to pick up a single one.

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But the tables have turned in 2026. Hamilton is currently sat 40 points ahead of Leclerc in the drivers' championship and, last weekend, managed to become the first Ferrari grand prix victor since Carlos Sainz at the 2024 Mexican Grand Prix, taking the win at the Barcelona-Catalunya GP.

Before that, Hamilton also claimed two back-to-back second-place finishes at the Canadian and Monaco Grands Prix, boosting himself up into second in the drivers' championship, above Mercedes' George Russell.

The Brit is now just 41 points behind championship leader Kimi Antonelli as he chases an unprecedented eighth world title.

And 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve believes Ferrari need to put all their eggs in the Hamilton championship basket if they are to have a first Ferrari drivers' title holder since Kimi Raikkonen in 2007.

Villeneuve: 'Ferrari need to focus on Hamilton'

Speaking on the latest episode of Sky Sports' F1 Show, Villeneuve said: "Lewis knows how to win, and he knows what it takes. And if he gets a sniff of it, there won't be any quarters.

"I think that's where he can make the difference. Mercedes right now are not in a position to be even able or allowed to choose a driver over another.

"Ferrari is because Ferrari has to focus on Lewis if they want a small chance of winning, so the decision is easy to make because Leclerc is quite far back [in the championship]."

Mercedes have two talented drivers in the form of Russell and Antonelli, who are both going for the title, and it appears as though the team are going to continue to let them race for now.

Hamilton could play a similar role to Max Verstappen in last year's championship battle, when McLaren failed to prioritise either of their drivers, allowing Verstappen to sneak into the race by picking up consistent results.

There's no doubt that Hamilton is the Ferrari driver in form, but it seems a stretch at this stage to suggest that he can beat the Mercedes drivers to the 2026 drivers' championship.

F1 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari Charles Leclerc Jacques Villeneuve