Lewis Hamilton Backed to “Get Inside Charles Leclerc’s Head” in Ferrari Mind Game Battle

Ferrari has started the 2026 season off on a much better note than in previous years. The team finally looks competitive and can battle against Mercedes for race wins. Now, the intra-team battle at Maranello between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc would be the one to watch. Ahead of the Japanese GP, former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya has urged Hamilton to get inside Leclerc’s head to defeat him.

At the season opener Australian GP, Charles Leclerc was able to deny Lewis Hamilton a podium finish and achieve a P3 finish. Meanwhile, Hamilton made all the difference at the Chinese GP and picked up his career-first podium with the Italian constructor. However, the two drivers seem to be at par, as neither of them is able to ride off in the distance against the other.

Now, speaking on differences in Lewis Hamilton’s driving style, Juan Pablo Montoya feels that he is witnessing a completely different person. Montoya highlighted that the seven-time champion was finally comfortable driving the Ferrari challenger. The Spaniard believes that the changes to Hamilton’s crew are helping him achieve better results and remain positive with the performances on track.

He’s hungry, he’s more comfortable in the car, I think his working group is a lot better than it was last year, and I think that he’s got a lot more support around him this year, and that makes a lot of difference.

Juan Pablo Montoya said, as reported by RacingNews365.

Juan Pablo Montoya feels that this refreshed mindset and team members will pay off big dividends in the upcoming races for Lewis Hamilton. The Briton finally feels that he is back to his best form with Ferrari, which is definitely much better than his woes during the 2025 season. Moreover, if Hamilton starts to beat Charles Leclerc consistently, he will be able to get into his head and push him to further make mistakes on track.

That’s going to pay off big dividends. If he can start beating Charles, then it’s going to get into Charles’ head pretty big.

Juan Pablo Montoya added.

Lewis Hamilton suspects Mercedes using “party mode” in challenger during Qualifying

Mercedes seems simply untouched in terms of pace by the rivals, as none of them seem to battle against them for race wins. The Silver Arrows achieved consecutive one-two finishes in the first two races of the season. Now, Lewis Hamilton suspects that the German carmaker has a “party mode” in their cars during Qualifying sessions, which provides them with an untoward advantage.

Lewis Hamilton believes Mercedes switches to this mode during Q2 to gain an advantage over the field, while rivals are left dumbfounded by the boost in pace. However, Hamilton asserted that the team does not use this mode during races, but still has an advantage. Regardless, the German carmaker has an overall advantage and does not need “party mode” during races.

In qualifying, they have another mode that they’re able to go to, a bit like a ‘party mode’ back in the day, and once they get to Q2, they switch that on, and we don’t have that. So, whatever that is. And then in the race, they obviously don’t have that mode, so they still obviously have an advantage overall. 

Lewis Hamilton said, as reported by motorsportweek.

The 2026 season has just begun, and has 20 more races to go following the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian GPs. As such, Ferrari will have a five-week gap to prepare their car and develop ahead of the Miami GP. Hence, it will be interesting to see how the Italian constructor manages to defeat Mercedes at the forefront.

Read More: George Russell’s “Real Threat” in Bid for First F1 Title Revealed

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