Why Hamilton can be positive about turning the tables on Leclerc

Lewis Hamilton has been beating himself about his performances this season - but is there reason to be optimistic in the second half of the season?

Hamilton’s move to Ferrari was always going to grab headlines. At 40 years old, the seven-time world champion is stepping into one of the sport’s most pressurised seats and against one of the sharpest single-lap drivers on the grid, Charles Leclerc.

It’s no secret that age isn’t kind to F1 drivers in qualifying trim. Reactions slow, fractions of a second slip away, and the younger generation pounces.

Max Verstappen said as much about Leclerc, who is widely considered as the quickest driver over a single lap. In an interview, Verstappen said the Monegasque's name when talking about the best qualifier bar himself: "It's hard, but I think currently... I have always Charles Leclerc considered a very good driver in qualifying."

Throughout the 2025 season, 16 qualifyings and three sprint qualifyings have been completed. Both drivers were eliminated in Q2 at Imola, and Hamilton had early eliminations in Miami, at Spa and at the Hungaroring. In these cases, the sessions where Hamilton was eliminated were taken into account when calculating the average.

That gap through these events stands at 0.174 seconds in favour of Leclerc. The Monegasque driver also outperformed Hamilton 14 times out of the 19 sessions.

However, there is still plenty for the Briton to build on, despite a difficult run of form.

After qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix, where he finished 12th, Hamilton described himself as 'useless.'

A Q2 exit at the Hungaroring meant that three times in a row, the former champion missed out on the final session.

What could be more disheartening for the Briton is that at this point, he was gaining momentum in the weeks leading up to the weekend at Spa.

Hamilton did claim pole position for the Sprint race in China and also out-qualified Leclerc again on Saturday afternoon.

After Leclerc outqualified him by three tenths in Monaco, Hamilton could begin to find form.

The momentum carried through mid-season. From Spain to Silverstone, Hamilton out-qualified his teammate in three of four races, and even when he trailed in Austria, the gap was a razor-thin 0.090s.

The summer break brought a reset, and with it, a closer fight. At Zandvoort, Hamilton shadowed Leclerc all the way through Q1 and Q2, even beating him on several attempts before falling short in the final run. Monza told a similar tale: close, but just behind.

These weren’t headline-grabbing results, but they mattered. They showed Hamilton had steadied himself, and crucially, that he could once again push Leclerc to the limit.

The Dutch Grand Prix was particularly better for the Briton, where he was quicker than the Monegasque driver on multiple attempts in Q1 and Q2.

Hamilton’s Ferrari story is still in the early days. After more than a decade at Mercedes, the adjustment was never going to be seamless. But against one of the world’s best qualifiers, he has already proven he can still land punches.

The next challenge? Consistency. If Hamilton can rediscover the rhythm that powered him to seven world titles, Ferrari’s qualifying strength could become a double-edged sword for the rest of the grid.

And with 2026’s sweeping regulation changes on the horizon, Hamilton knows it’s not just about beating Leclerc, it’s about putting himself in position to fight for wins again.

For now, the Saturday scoreboard belongs to Leclerc. But Hamilton isn’t done yet. Leclerc is a great benchmark, Hamilton just needs the consistency he showed during his championship-winning years.