Lewis Hamilton is Ferrari’s priority driver to win the F1 world title but a promise would have to be made to Charles Leclerc, claims Grand Prix winner
Lewis Hamilton is Ferrari’s priority driver to win the 2026 World Championship, believes seven-time Grand Prix winner Juan Pablo Montoya.
The seven-time world champion endured a miserable debut campaign in red last year but the early signs point to Ferrari being competitive for race wins this season, and even Hamilton spoke about how positive the SF-26 feels.
Speaking to BetBrothers, former Williams and McLaren driver Montoya said: “Last year was horrible for Lewis Hamilton, the working and driving experience at Ferrari was very different for him. It makes a big difference when you’re comfortable and have the right people around you.
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“Lewis had to go through that pain and had tough times last year, but I think he’ll be much better and smoother this season. A transition to another team can take more than two years, so I guess we’ll see.”
With the murmurs around the paddock suggesting that Ferrari could be one of the main frontrunners this season, something backed up by their performance in Bahrain testing, Montoya believes that Hamilton would be prioritised over Leclerc in a world title situation.
“If Ferrari has a winning car, would they rather have Charles Leclerc or Lewis Hamilton as their champion? Who would be better for Ferrari because of their name and popularity? That would be Lewis,” Montoya stated.
“If Ferrari had a winning car right now, they would prioritise Lewis and then promise the next year to Charles, if the car will be competitive for multiple years.
“For Ferrari, the story is way better if Lewis becomes the world champion. Charles is 100% capable of becoming a world champion, but the question is, how will the politics work at that point.”
If Ferrari were to back Hamilton over their 28-year-old Ferrari Driver Academy product, who has been patiently waiting for the team to provide him with a title-winning car in his seventh season now, Leclerc would undoubtedly be furious.
Yet Montoya believes that the Monegasque could be talked round to staying with the Prancing Horse, he said: “Would Charles Leclerc leave if Ferrari have a winning car? Knowing the other guy will be leaving the year after? Probably not.
“He’ll need to be guaranteed to be prioritised over Lewis Hamilton in the next few years. I would take that deal, it’s the hard reality of Formula 1.
“If the car is unstable on entry, which Charles can deal with but where Lewis may struggle, Ferrari will have to make a decision whether they help develop the car towards Lewis or Charles’ needs.
“It will be a very hard decision. It will be a company decision, as it will probably decide who wins a world championship.”