Lewis Hamilton has refrained from using Ferrari’s simulator ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix, and this approach seems to be bearing fruit so far.
According to Motorsport, Hamilton outqualified team-mate Charles Leclerc by 0.084s in the sprint and 0.108s in the main session; he was faster in all six qualifying segments this weekend.
It signifies a remarkable improvement given their overall head-to-head since the seven-time world champion joined Ferrari, before this weekend, was 27-9 in Leclerc’s favour – and out of the previous nine times Hamilton prevailed, four occurred in China.
Shanghai happens to be the other 2026 round where the Briton didn’t use the Maranello simulator in his preparation, and the Montreal results seem to be vindicating this approach, with a double top-five result. Hamilton actually reckons he could have done even better.
Hamilton said, “It felt great. We made some good changes in qualifying. Oh, man, I was hopeful for a better result, but I didn't get my last lap. The car was feeling like we were improving. I think honestly if I got that last lap I probably could have been third.”
Asked in what areas the car was giving him more confidence, he replied, “It's brakes, corner entry stability, and just with the set-up that I've migrated to, I'm much, much happier with being able to attack the corners.”
The seven-time world champion’s first Ferrari season in 2025 brought more noise than results, and even in 2026, Leclerc has usually looked like the faster over a single lap. Canada has been different, though.
Hamilton has been competitive from the start of the weekend, looked more at ease in the car, and has spoken openly of being in a better place with the car.
