(Motorsport-Total.com) – There is nothing fundamentally new about how Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton behaved on and off the track on Sunday in Monza, neither in the history of Formula 1 nor in motorsport in general.
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Conflicts between teammates have in some cases reached a level of tension that makes the incident between the Ferrari drivers seem comparatively harmless. But in this particular case, something does not add up. Perhaps we are overlooking something, because otherwise it remains hard to understand.
The great rivalries of the past between teammates who were considered “top drivers” always had a clear goal. Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Nelson Piquet, Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel, Nico Rosberg and Hamilton: All these driver pairings became bitter rivals when they had a car capable of fighting for the Formula 1 World Championship.
In other words: success depended almost entirely on beating the driver on the other side of your own garage. Take the most recent example: 2013.
In Hamilton’s first year at Mercedes, the car allowed him a race win, while Rosberg ended the season with two Grand Prix victories. The W04 was not a car capable of fighting for the championship, and the relationship between the two Mercedes drivers remained accordingly excellent.
The following season, the situation changed dramatically with the debut of Mercedes’ impressive first hybrid power unit. Suddenly, the biggest prize in motorsport was at stake, and the two drivers who had shared pizza in Monaco became bitter sporting rivals.
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With Leclerc and Hamilton, however, the motive remains a mystery. It should be emphasized that the situation between them is not comparable to the examples mentioned above.
No matter what Ferrari publicly says about its ambitions, not least to keep motivation high both on the track and in the factory: it is hard to seriously believe that its drivers are currently fighting for the world championship. The numbers as well as the course of the season so far show this.
It is also not about securing a future or fighting for contractual status. Leclerc and Hamilton have the same chances, and plans for the 2027 season have long been settled for both.
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Moreover, both finally earn enough that a joke heard on Sunday in the Monza paddock seems quite inappropriate: No, this is definitely not about two people fighting over the last crumbs.
And this point is important: Ultimately, both are paid by Ferrari to deliver for Ferrari. They are established drivers from whom one would expect them to always consider the interests of the team, especially when they do not have a car with which a fight for the world championship would be realistic.
Hamilton had to swallow his frustration throughout the 2025 season because he could not reach the performance level that his teammate consistently showed. Having found his pace again, he probably enjoys the opportunity to prove some things, to everyone, including Leclerc.
Leclerc, in turn, was able to significantly improve his status last year after consistently outperforming the seven-time world champion. Only twelve months later, the situation has changed: Hamilton is ahead of him in the championship.
But the need to prove oneself against one’s own teammate is usually much greater in the midfield. There, a single podium can shape an entire season, and a driver’s future is rarely guaranteed.
Beating the teammate at all costs may be a priority for someone fighting for their place in the team, but not for two established stars with a secure future.
Now the ball is in Fred Vasseur’s court. The Ferrari team principal met with both drivers in his office before the race in Monza, but after the events on Sunday, it seems a second meeting is necessary. The principle is simple: the interests of the team must come before individual ambitions. Especially when the prize they are fighting for is not the world championship.
A rivalry can be an advantage if it drives a team to greater success. But if no world championship is at stake and the rivalry begins to work against the interests of the team, it becomes nothing more than another problem, and Ferrari already has enough of those.
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