Lewis Hamilton’s new approach seems to work as he outqualifies Charles Leclerc again
Lewis Hamilton’s decision to tear up his usual race prep has paid off in Montreal, with the Ferrari driver outqualifying Charles Leclerc for both the Sprint and the Grand Prix at the Canadian Grand Prix. For the first time since China earlier this year, Hamilton had the edge over his teammate across every single qualifying segment of the weekend.
The shift was deliberate. Hamilton revealed on Thursday that he skipped Ferrari’s simulator work entirely before arriving at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve. Instead of logging hours in Maranello’s virtual world, he spent the two-week gap sifting through data from previous races with his engineers. The focus was on ride stability, through-corner balance, and mechanical setup – the areas where he’s felt disconnected from the SF-25 all season. 99af
The result was immediate. Hamilton called it “probably the best qualifying session we’ve had for some time”. In Sprint Qualifying, he took P5 and was 0.084s quicker than Leclerc. Then in main qualifying for Sunday’s race, he repeated the trick, securing P5 again with a 0.108s advantage over the Monegasque. Hamilton was faster than Leclerc in all six qualifying segments across the weekend. 99afd12f
What changed? Hamilton says the car finally feels like his. “Honestly, for me, my engineering team is now just where I need it and we’ve finally got the car this weekend in a place where I really feel like myself”. The setup changes made the Ferrari stable on entry and gave him confidence to attack the brakes into Montreal’s heavy braking zones. He described the car as “fantastic from FP1” and said he was “having so much fun out there”. 86ced96b
Leclerc, by contrast, had a weekend to forget. He called it “one, if not the worst weekend of my career”. Since FP1 he struggled to get the tyres and brakes in the right window, saying he never had a lap where the car felt right. He qualified P8, four tenths off pole and 0.108s behind Hamilton. The contrast was stark: Hamilton looked comfortable and on the pace, while Leclerc admitted he was “just going to put it into the wall in every single corner”. 8f34
The timing matters. Hamilton has been under pressure since his move to Ferrari at the start of 2025, with Leclerc holding a 7-3 edge in Grand Prix qualifying head-to-heads coming into Canada. Single-lap pace hasn’t been Hamilton’s strong suit in recent years, but the sim-less approach seems to have closed that gap. He explained that skipping the simulator let him focus on training and avoid distractions, while diving deep into data with his engineers gave him a clearer picture of what the car needed. af78d96b
There’s context to note. Ferrari brought no upgrades to Montreal, so the improvement is purely down to setup and driver adaptation. Hamilton himself said he missed a final lap that could have put him third, but even with a small error at Turn 7 he stayed within three-tenths of pole. 2c7786ce
For Ferrari, the double top-five result is a positive heading into a race where rain is forecast. For Hamilton, it’s validation that his “way forward” might not involve the simulator at all. “I didn’t do the sim, and this is the best I’ve felt all year, so I think that’s the way forward for me”. 86ced96b
The question now is whether this sticks. If Hamilton can keep feeling “like myself” in the car, Ferrari’s internal battle just got a lot more interesting.