Charles Leclerc 'cannot bear' losing to Lewis Hamilton as Ferrari rivalry intensifies

Charles Leclerc 'cannot bear' losing to Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton according to top F1 insider Giorgio Terruzzi.

The 28-year-old Monegasque is beloved inside Maranello, the man feted for so long as 'Ferrari's next world champion'.

But according to Terruzzi, Leclerc has been forced to play second fiddle in 2026 by the "imposing presence" of seven-time world champion Hamilton. It's not a role he has experienced before.

READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton has lost trust with Ferrari and the ending is going to be ugly

Leclerc 'overshadowed' by 'imposing' Hamilton presence

Writing for Italian outlet Corriere Della Sera, Terruzzi reports: "Leclerc, who embodies Ferrari, who drives for Ferrari and will continue to do so for a long time, has found himself overshadowed by someone else for the first time.

"So, alongside what's happening at the top of the championship standings, dominated by Antonelli with an authority that nobody can match, we have an intense and deeply human rivalry unfolding within Ferrari.

"Charles has endured a complicated rivalry, maintaining his smile as though nothing were wrong - naturally, all in the name of harmony within the team.

"Above all, though, he has fought back."

Leclerc is closing in on Lewis in 2026 standings

That Leclerc 'fightback' continued in Sunday's Singapore Grand Prix as he claimed a fine second place while Hamilton's much-publicised strategy error saw him fall all the way from P3 to P6 in the final classification.

Hamilton's advantage over his team-mate in the Drivers' standings is now down to just 14 points after being beaten by Leclerc in six of the last nine races.

Leclerc 'cannot bear' defeat in this particular race

Leclerc's hopes of ending that Ferrari title drought in 2026 are obviously long gone with Italian prodigy Kimi Antonelli on the brink of becoming the sport's youngest ever world champion.

But Terruzzi says Leclerc will not accept losing out to his superstar team-mate in the battle for supremacy inside Maranello.

"He has reset himself, with the aim of reasserting what he sees as the necessary hierarchy - the only objective left to pursue after yet another shattered dream.

"Leclerc must reluctantly accept that the very young Kimi is heading towards the world championship in only his second year in F1.

"But he cannot bear the thought of also losing his internal battle to an old hand of the racetrack who is determined to wrest control of the Prancing Horse from his grasp."

What will Ferrari look like in 2027?

The intense speculation at Ferrari has been relentless in recent weeks - we have been here many times before as a season built on hope and expectation ultimately peters out in failure.

As well as the Hamilton vs Leclerc battle, the rumours about the future of team principal Fred Vasseur even forced the team to hold an emergency media call professing support for the embattled Frenchman.

The last six races of the 2026 season will be instructive as to what the future Ferrari might look like. And Leclerc is clearly in no mood to let somebody else write his script.

READ MORE: Fred Vasseur snaps at media as Lewis Hamilton tyre strategy probed

Written by

Graham Shaw - Consultant Editor

Digital sports leader with 30 years of senior level experience running global brands. Built sportinglife.com to be a behemoth in the UK as well as being in charge of the Planet Sport network of sites including planetf1.com, football365.com, teamtalk.com and planetrugby.com. Then grew goal.com to be the world's biggest soccer website in 18 languages and 37 territories. Was GM of Portals for Perform Group (now DAZN) with overall responsibility for sportingnews.com, spox.de and voetbalzone.nl.

View full biography