Lewis Hamilton Drives The SF-26 DIFFERENTLY — And Leclerc Knows Why

Lewis Hamilton ran more downforce than Charles Leclerc at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and still went slower. This video explains why: Ferrari is now effectively running two versions of the SF-26, and Hamilton drives the one that wasn't built around him. In Baku, Leclerc kept a lower-downforce setup all weekend, while Hamilton switched after FP3 to a higher-downforce package for rear stability, traction and front-tyre temperature. It cost him just 1.8 km/h in top speed but gained him only 0.099s in the twisty sector, and Leclerc's fastest lap was 0.386s quicker. Hamilton said afterwards he never got his tyres to switch on. We go back to the summer, when Hamilton outscored Leclerc 64 to 16 across Canada, Monaco and Barcelona, and Leclerc chose not to copy his teammate's style. In his words: "It's not as easy as, 'Oh, Lewis is doing that, I'll just do the same.'" Instead, Ferrari moved the SF-26 toward Leclerc's preferred corner-exit balance at Silverstone, and he won. We also look at what the setup split doesn't explain: Ferrari as a whole was still six to eight tenths off the front in Baku. And we explain why Sepang, and Ferrari's next aero package, will show which version of the SF-26 wins out. Should Ferrari build the rest of 2026 around Leclerc's car, or give Hamilton the car he's asking for? Tell us in the comments. Subscribe to F1 News Lab Reloaded for Hamilton and Ferrari stories told through the numbers the broadcast skips. #LewisHamilton #CharlesLeclerc #FerrariSF26 #AzerbaijanGP #F12026