Charles Leclerc told he cannot copy Lewis Hamilton to end Ferrari pain

Ferrari F1 star Charles Leclerc has been warned he simply cannot copy his seven-time champion team-mate Lewis Hamilton in order to find the solution to his issues with the Scuderia.

After eight rounds of the 2026 campaign, it has become clear that Leclerc is struggling with the new machinery more than Hamilton as the tables have been well and truly turned compared to 2025.

During the British legend's first year in red, it was Leclerc who shone in comparison to his downbeat team-mate, who failed to stand on the top step of the grand prix podium at all.

During last month's Barcelona GP weekend however, the 41-year-old bounced back to winning ways and secured his highly-anticipated first win in red.

The championship now heads to the home of British motorsport this weekend for the British Grand Prix, where Hamilton will be welcomed like a God on home turf at Silverstone.

As the 106-time grand prix winner settles into the team he is now determined to shape around him, Leclerc is faced with the tricky challenge of fighting for equal treatment at the Scuderia without taking away Hamilton's chances of being in title contention this year either.

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Team orders not an option for Vasseur

Any Ferrari fan will tell you that Hamilton and Leclerc have come a little too close for comfort on track on multiple occasions already this year.

In recent weeks, the conversation around team orders has been brought up, but 2009 F1 champion Jenson Button doesn't believe this is an approach that team principal Fred Vasseur is willing to take.

Speaking to Kerry Violet for GPFans at an event hosted by global ticket marketplace, viagogo, Button admitted he can't see Hamilton and Leclerc's boss dipping his toe into the murky waters of team orders.

"Well, Ferrari have definitely done that before. I personally don't think that's the way Fred wants to go racing," said Button.

"It's a very different Ferrari to back in the 90s, early 2000s, and I think they want to give both drivers the opportunity.

"They're both extremely skilled, both work extremely hard. I think a lot of it comes down to the regulations, how the cars have changed from last year to this year."

Driving style brings copycat danger

Button, who was team-mates with Hamilton himself at McLaren between 2010 and 2012, then turned his attention to unpacking what Leclerc's main issues have been so far this year and whether he can overcome them.

"The car suited Charles better last year, and it suits Lewis better this year. So, once you put that behind you, because there's nothing really you can change with the regulations. You just need to work as hard as you can with your engineer to develop the car around you a bit more in your direction.

"Just copying the guy on the other side of the garage's setup, it doesn't work if you have a different style of driving.

"But I think, for sure, the biggest issue for him this year is the amount of incidents he's had. So, that definitely puts you on the back foot, takes away a bit of confidence."

Of course Leclerc did copy Hamilton after crashing in front of his home crowd in Monaco last month, switching to the same brake material supplier as Hamilton, but so far that change hasn't translated into better on-track results.

"For whatever reason, obviously he's had brake issues. He's changed manufacturer in terms of the brake material that he uses now, but it didn't help him in the last race," Button continued.

"You know, for me, the strange thing was, Charles has always been super quick, and he's had maybe too many incidents, but in Austria, he just didn't have the pace of Lewis, so it will change through the season, because certain tracks suit certain drivers, but we all know how talented Charles is, so he will bounce back.

"It's just he's also a very emotional character, so it's pulling yourself out of that rut sometimes is difficult, and you need strong people around you, which I think he has."

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Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

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