Hamilton reverses roles with Leclerc in a Ferrari switch.

      Lewis Hamilton seems to be finally asserting his dominance at Ferrari following a significant turnaround in his fortunes. Since his joining in 2025, teammate Charles Leclerc had primarily taken charge in the rivalry at Ferrari. However, at the Canadian GP—known as one of Hamilton’s strongest tracks and one of Leclerc’s lesser ones—the dynamics shifted dramatically.

      Leclerc faced a challenging weekend and candidly expressed that he felt entirely adrift with the car. "It’s been the worst weekend of my career," the Monegasque shared with RTBF. "From practice, I didn’t manage to achieve a single good lap. It felt like I was bound to crash into the wall at every turn. There's been nothing positive."

      "But Lewis was able to perform well, unlike me. It’s a nightmare," he added. "I have a very unusual feeling with the car."

      On the other hand, Hamilton showcased one of his best performances at Ferrari, finishing in second place after successfully overtaking his longtime rival Max Verstappen during the race. "It was absolutely fantastic to compete against one of the greats," remarked the seven-time world champion afterward.

      The weekend also held significance beyond the track, as Hamilton firmly put to rest retirement speculations by confirming not only his contract extension through 2027 but also articulating a five-year vision.

      The apparent improvement seems closely tied to significant internal changes surrounding Hamilton’s engineering team, following notable communication issues during 2025. His previous race engineer was let go over the winter, and Hamilton now states that the connection with the new team structure is boosting his confidence. "I opted for a different setup this weekend after analyzing the data," Hamilton stated. "I’m collaborating very effectively with my engineer."

      "He’s incredible, and I’m genuinely enjoying working with him. My number two did an exceptional job this weekend and helped me extract more performance from the car."

      Hamilton also commended team principal Frederic Vasseur for endorsing substantial behind-the-scenes changes he requested. "As I mentioned, there have been numerous alterations I’ve had to ask for," he revealed. "And Fred has been extremely supportive—making significant efforts to ensure my comfort. It’s finally beginning to reflect in my performance."

      Hamilton further disclosed that he intentionally bypassed Ferrari’s simulator prior to the Canadian GP, concluding that this decision might be crucial to his comeback. "I’m old school," he confessed. "I likely perform better without it."

      "If you analyze the two best races I've had, I didn’t use a simulator," he clarified. "For nearly all the championships before, except perhaps 2008, I didn’t rely on the sim. So it’s not essential. It’s a useful tool, but for me, possibly not."