Lewis Hamilton title call made as Ferrari urged to back one driver

Ferrari must now back Lewis Hamilton’s title bid over Charles Leclerc’s after the seven-time World Champion’s Barcelona victory opened a 40-point gap between the teammates, according to Jacques Villeneuve.

Hamilton put 40 points between himself and his teammate as he clinched the win in Spain, where Leclerc didn’t see the chequered flag for the second race week in succession.

Jacques Villeneuve says Ferrari should back Lewis Hamilton

Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trust

After back-to-back runner-up results in Canada and Monaco, Hamilton secured his maiden Grand Prix win as a Ferrari driver at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

The result capped an intriguing turnaround in form as Hamilton, on the back foot to Leclerc throughout their first season as teammates in 2025, has now emerged as the lead Ferrari driver.

The Briton is notably happier with the new generation of cars than he had been with last year’s ground-effect Ferrari, and it has showed in his results.

He took the fight to Leclerc, racing wheel-to-wheel with a “kiss” or two in the opening races, but since Canada, it’s been all Hamilton.

The gap between the teammates is up to 40 points, with Hamilton P2 in the drivers’ standings where he’s 41 points behind championship leader Antonelli.

Villeneuve believes with those margins, Ferrari has to make the call to support a Lewis Hamilton title.

“Lewis knows how to win, and he knows what it takes,” the Canadian told the Sky Sports’ The F1 Show podcast. “And if he gets a sniff of it, there won’t be any quarters.

“I think that’s where he can make the difference.

“Mercedes right now are not in a position to be even able or allowed to choose a driver over another. Ferrari is because Ferrari has to focus on Lewis if they want a small chance of winning.

“The decision is easy to make because Leclerc is quite far back [in the championship].”

Lewis Hamilton v Charles Leclerc: Ferrari’s F1 2026 scores

F1 2026: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between teammates

F1 2026: Head-to-head race statistics between teammates

The 1997 world champion has little sympathy for Leclerc should Ferrari relegate him to a wingman role.

Leclerc has been with the Scuderia since 2019 and has had the opportunity to make the team his own as he saw off Sebastian Vettel and Carlos Sainz.

However, he has yet to truly stamp his authority having only finished twice on the season’s podium, opening the door for Hamilton to make his mark.

“Leclerc had time to build the team around him and he didn’t,” Villeneuve said.

“Bear in mind how he came into Ferrari was after an average season at Sauber and suddenly giving the huge mega contract, like a world champion contract. Maybe too much too soon?

“He’s never really had to build anything around him. It was given, it was there. He was quick and that was plenty because the perception was, that’s a car that cannot win a championship anyway. You win a few races, you beat your team-mate, which was Vettel. Everybody was happy.

“Suddenly in comes Lewis last year, who’s not having a great season. He’s really having a hard time with the car, the team, it takes time to build this around yourself, so Leclerc is quite happy. He’s looking good next to Lewis.

“But the minute Lewis woke up, the minute Lewis made that car and that team his own and he’s going for it and doesn’t leave any quarter, Leclerc is not prepared for that.”

Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.

You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!

Read next: ‘If he smells blood, he goes’ – Wolff warns Lewis Hamilton ‘absolutely’ a title contender