Heading into the São Paulo Grand Prix, it is increasingly clear that Ferrari must evolve its management of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc if it hopes to secure its first drivers’ championship since 2007. While the current season’s title is already settled—following Kimi Antonelli’s triumph in Mexico—Ferrari is already pivoting toward a title bid for 2027. However, friction between Hamilton and Leclerc has become a significant liability, casting doubt on the team’s ability to maintain a unified front. All indications are that the status quo at Ferrari will no longer suffice for Lewis Hamilton if the Scuderia’s ambition to return their first drivers’ F1 championship since 2007 is to be taken seriously, g oing into this weekend’s São Paulo Grand Prix.
Tensions reached a flashpoint at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico, where a collision between the two teammates cost Ferrari a probable one-two finish. The incident, which led to a penalty for Leclerc and allowed Max Verstappen to capitalize and win, drew sharp criticism from team principal Fred Vasseur. Vasseur, who described the clash as a lack of respect for the organization, is expected to address the matter directly with both drivers during a meeting in Interlagos this Friday. However, after Hamilton and his teammate Charles Leclerc clashed at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, the British driver clearly believes that a title tilt in 2027 might be at risk, as the team apparently vacillates on how it manages having two number one drivers, both determined to be the top dog around which Ferrari should coalesce. The outcome denied Ferrari what would have been a likely victory and potentially a one-two. Refusing to be silenced in his criticism and making his position clear, after Mexico he publicly criticised Leclerc and before the race in Brazil he was more bullish. That he is talking about it publicly is indicative of the seriousness of the situation. With a title at stake in the future it could be the difference between winning and losing but this is far from a straightforward situation. Vasseur has been painstaking so far in avoiding that scenario but he was left enormously frustrated after the incident in Mexico and knows how costly it could be.
This is not an isolated issue.
The duo has shown a lack of compatibility on track throughout the year, including a disputed pit strategy in Zandvoort and a squeezed entry into the first chicane at Monza. While Hamilton previously opted to manage such disagreements internally, he has shifted his approach recently, publicly voicing his frustrations. Emphasizing his competitive nature, Hamilton stated: “Naturally it’s not so easy having someone like me come into a team because I’m very outspoken. I push and push and push for so many changes and I’m going to be pushing for more and as long as I’m here that’s how it’s going to be. I’m here to win.” Previously he has been politic in stating they would deal with the incidents behind closed doors – “offline” as he refers to it. Last year with the team struggling it was irrelevant. This year the problem has been brought sharply into focus.
The dilemma for Ferrari stems from the fact that both drivers occupy a “number one” status that they are unwilling to relinquish. Hamilton arrives with a history of dominance at Mercedes since 2016, while Leclerc has been the face of Ferrari since 2019. Unlike the clear hierarchy Red Bull maintains with Max Verstappen, Ferrari’s current lack of formal engagement rules leaves the drivers to fight for the team’s priority status, a dynamic that historically led to volatility between pairs like Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost. Pretty much since Nico Rosberg retired after the 2016 season, hamilton came to Ferrari on the back of enjoying de facto number one status at Mercedes. Leclerc, who is no less competitive, has enjoyed similar pre-eminence at Ferrari, with whom he has forged a strong relationship since he joined in 2019 and was long the favoured choice as their expected next champion. As seen with Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost and Nigel Mansell and Nelson Piquet, the complex demands and the fallout from letting them fight for dominance is far from new.
Ferrari’s leadership is attempting a delicate balancing act, hoping to avoid the heavy-handed mandates that eventually hampered McLaren. In 2024 and 2025, McLaren struggled to manage Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, eventually introducing complex “papaya rules” that satisfied few. While those rules ultimately helped McLaren secure the 2024 constructors’ title and a 2025 double, the process was fraught with difficulty. Ferrari is now observing those lessons closely, aware that the lack of clear direction is straining the relationship between Hamilton and Leclerc to a breaking point. McLaren had a similar problem with Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris in 2024 and 2025 and their efforts to allow their drivers to race without favour but also in managing them to the team’s advantage led to the adoption of their torturously complex “papaya rules” which were satisfying to neither drivers, fans, nor it appeared particularly edifying to the team itself.
Ultimately, both drivers remain fiercely committed to their own success and their team’s resurgence, but their overlapping ambitions are creating a counter-productive environment. For Ferrari to capitalize on its potential for the upcoming season, it must transition from a passive stance to an active management role. The Scuderia remains hopeful of being a championship contender, but as current events demonstrate, that goal is at risk if they cannot effectively corral their drivers within the cockpit. Perhaps, it feels, within a whisker of becoming actively counter-productive from which a further, more damaging deterioration threatens.
