Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari: Why Life will get tougher for Leclerc, F1 icon explains

Formula 1 icon Juan Pablo Montoya has handed a fresh Lewis Hamilton warning to Charles Leclerc in a recent interview. The 49-year-old detailed that the intra-team competition at Scuderia Ferrari could intensify as Hamilton ramps up his efforts to improve.

Montoya, who recently spoke to AS Colombia, predicts Leclerc’s path will be tougher as the influence of the seven-time champion grows and the team further adapts to his demands.

“What’s really happening is that Lewis is at a point where he wants to beat his teammate. He’s putting in huge effort, working very hard, but the car isn’t to his liking. The engineers are starting to understand, but they still don’t fully grasp how difficult this car is to drive.”

“Charles looks very quick because he can handle the car’s behaviour. I think that as Ferrari adjusts the car more to Lewis’s style and he gets comfortable, life will get harder for Charles. So far, it hasn’t been too tough for him, but we’ll see.”

Leclerc has largely had the upper hand against Hamilton through the first 14 rounds of the 2025 F1 season. The 27-year-old currently holds a 42-point advantage over his veteran teammate and also finished well ahead of him during the recent Hungarian Grand Prix event.

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Lewis Hamilton met with key Ferrari figures

Earlier during the British Grand Prix weekend, Lewis Hamilton had admitted to meeting with several members of the Ferrari senior figures, offering them his input with regard to desired structural changes and design for its 2026 car.

This revelation by Hamilton further adds credence to Montoya’s claim. However, Leclerc himself had downplayed talks of him having little input on the 2026 Ferrari car design.