Lewis Hamilton's worrying Ferrari trend exposed as Leclerc problem deepens

Lewis Hamilton's struggles to get the better of Charles Leclerc at Ferrari are becoming an increasingly worrying trend, despite another encouraging result for the Scuderia at the United States Grand Prix.

Ferrari showed signs of renewed competitiveness in Sunday's race in Austin after a miserable qualifying session on Saturday, with Leclerc securing second place and Hamilton finishing fourth.

But while the Italian team had reason to celebrate that improved performance, the result also highlighted an increasingly familiar problem for the seven-time world champion. He is now consistently struggling to beat his team-mate.

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Leclerc vs Hamilton: Last 10 races show growing trend

Leclerc has now finished ahead of Hamilton in seven of the last 10 Grands Prix in which both drivers have been classified.

This is all a far cry from the early stages of the 2026 season when Hamilton was dominating at Maranello and threatening a real title challenge. Leclerc, meanwhile, endured one of the worst periods of his career.

The turnaround for the Monegasque star began with an unlikely win at Silverstone in early July and since then he has reasserted control over Hamilton in the rivalry at Maranello.

Sunday at COTA provided further evidence of the worrying trend for Hamilton, who had been comprehensively drubbed by Leclerc in a dire first season at Ferrari in 2025.

Italian media highlight Hamilton's growing Leclerc problem

Hamilton's struggles to match Leclerc have not gone unnoticed in Italy, with several publications on Monday highlighting the contrasting performances of the Ferrari team-mates at COTA.

Eurosport Italia awarded Hamilton just 5.5 out of 10 for his fourth-place finish in Austin, compared to an eight for Leclerc, who was praised for his aggressive drive to second.

Virgilio Sport was similarly critical, giving Hamilton a six while awarding Leclerc a perfect 10. Its headline suggested Hamilton had woken up too late, with the seven-time world champion only finding competitive pace during the final stint. The outlet also highlighted Hamilton's struggles relative to Leclerc since Silverstone.

The changing dynamic within Ferrari was also highlighted by Corriere della Sera, which awarded Leclerc a nine and Hamilton 7.5. Journalist Flavio Vanetti suggested Leclerc could now overturn the balance of power within the team, something which had appeared almost unthinkable only a few races earlier.

Not all the reaction was negative, with Corriere acknowledging that Hamilton had driven a largely effective race and suggesting the late Virtual Safety Car may have cost him the opportunity to challenge Max Verstappen for the final podium position.

Hamilton's latest defeat by Leclerc means he now leads his team-mate by only eight points in the Drivers' standings (241-233) with just five races remaining in 2026.

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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.

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