Lewis Hamilton on Brink of Unwanted Record at Ferrari as Season Struggles Continue
Seven-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton is heading towards an unenviable milestone in his debut season with Ferrari — his worst-ever single-season race head-to-head defeat to a teammate. So far, Charles Leclerc has outperformed the British driver in 11 of the first 13 races, leaving Hamilton with a 2–11 record.
According to data shared by Daniel Valente, Hamilton’s current head-to-head win rate against Leclerc stands at just 15.4%, a steep drop from the 35% he managed against George Russell in his final season with Mercedes. The only races where Hamilton has finished ahead this year are the British Grand Prix at Silverstone and the Emilia Romagna GP — both times taking fourth place.
Leclerc, meanwhile, has faced his own setbacks. Despite securing Ferrari’s first pole position of the season at the Hungarian GP, he was forced out of contention due to mechanical issues. Hamilton, on the other hand, could only manage 12th place in that race, starting and finishing in the same position without scoring points.
Frustrations boiled over on August 2, when Hamilton was eliminated in Q2 and described himself as “completely useless,” even suggesting the team should “bring in another driver.” Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur quickly defended him, attributing the poor qualifying result to the ultra-close lap times that narrowly kept Hamilton out of Q3.
If current form continues, Hamilton could close the season with the most lopsided teammate battle of his career — an unwanted chapter in his otherwise glittering F1 journey.
