Should Ferrari prioritize Hamilton or Leclerc in the title race? For David Coulthard, imposing a hierarchy between the two drivers is unrealistic.
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The first real tensions between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc have reignited a sensitive debate at Ferrari: should the Scuderia now clearly designate a number one driver to try to reduce the gap with Mercedes and Kimi Antonelli?
David Coulthard absolutely does not believe in this possibility. According to the former Formula 1 driver, Ferrari itself chose to bring together two very high-level drivers and must now accept the consequences of this decision. Rather than imposing a hierarchy, the Italian team must manage their rivalry without compromising its own results.
Ferrari has two drivers difficult to separate
Hamilton is currently in his second season with Ferrari after leaving Mercedes at the end of 2024. The Briton joined Leclerc, who has been at Maranello since 2019 after previously progressing through the Scuderia’s young driver program.
The Monegasque had generally taken the advantage during their first season together, but the situation reversed in 2026. Hamilton currently holds third place in the championship and leads his teammate in the standings.
For Coulthard, the prestige and level of both men make the arbitrary designation of a number one practically impossible.
“I don’t think that’s an option for them. You hire Lewis Hamilton and you have Charles Leclerc, who has been there for several years, who is incredibly fast and who almost represents the perfect image of a racing driver.”
Coulthard also scratches Leclerc’s image
The Scot also allowed himself a more unexpected remark about Leclerc’s image in the paddock. He believes that everything now surrounding the Monegasque strongly contrasts with his own older vision of Formula 1.
“He is handsome, he has his family, a baby on the way, a dog in the paddock… In my opinion, all this is frankly starting to be a bit much.”
Coulthard himself acknowledges that his reaction is probably related to the generation he belongs to. For him, a Grand Prix weekend must above all remain focused on competition and the inherent risks of motorsport.
“It’s not a picnic during a weekend, is it? It’s a Grand Prix, it’s something serious. It’s also something dangerous, but that’s probably my vision of an older generation.”
Aside from this parenthesis, his reasoning regarding Ferrari remains simple: the team knew exactly what kind of duo it was forming by bringing together Hamilton and Leclerc.
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“Ferrari has no choice”
Tensions took on a new dimension at Monza when Leclerc pushed Hamilton to the outside during the first lap, forcing his teammate to go through the gravel. The two drivers then downplayed the importance of the incident, but this episode has so far been their most significant confrontation since they share the same garage.
Faced with the lead taken by Mercedes in the championship, some have believed that Ferrari must now choose a driver to prioritize. Coulthard, on the contrary, considers that such a decision is hardly compatible with the status of the two men.
“They have no choice. They hired two of the best drivers in the world. Then, they just have to manage them as well as possible.”
Hamilton himself had said after Monza that it was now too late to start thinking about a collective strategy intended to reduce the gap with Mercedes. He had also called for more clarity regarding the rules governing duels between the two Ferraris.
Rules would already exist at Ferrari
Coulthard doubts, however, that Hamilton and Leclerc really operate without any internal instructions. According to him, the drivers’ contracts necessarily include provisions allowing Ferrari to intervene when the situation requires it.
Asked about the need to introduce precise conduct rules, the former McLaren driver believes they probably already exist in a more general form.
“I think they already have some. There must be somewhere in the contract a clause stating that the driver must respect fair and reasonable instructions given by an important member of the team.”
He recalls that this type of provision is essential to allow a team to maintain some control over its drivers.
“It’s a fairly generic clause found in all contracts, because otherwise you could hire a driver who then decides to do absolutely whatever he wants.”
For Coulthard, Ferrari therefore does not need to turn Hamilton or Leclerc into an official number two. The priority is rather to use the rules already at its disposal to prevent a legitimate sporting rivalry from ending up costing points to the team.
With two drivers capable of regularly aiming for the top positions, the Scuderia must above all succeed in a balancing act: letting Hamilton and Leclerc fight while intervening when collective interests are threatened. A complex situation, but one that Ferrari itself created by bringing together two of the most reputed drivers on the grid.
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