Hamilton's Canadian GP runner-up finish left Leclerc claiming his worst F1 weekend

Lewis Hamilton delivered his strongest performance in Ferrari colours at the Canadian Grand Prix, finishing second at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and climbing to fourth in the drivers’ standings — just three points behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.

Broadcaster Jake Humphrey and former engineer Rob Smedley, speaking on the High Performance Racing podcast, argued the result did more than boost Hamilton’s own confidence: it visibly rattled Leclerc. “He was quicker than Charles,” Smedley said. “That got inside Charles’s head because all of a sudden he started to claim that he’d had the worst weekend of his career in Formula 1, stuff like that. So clearly, if Lewis had been three places further back, I wouldn’t have thought that Charles would have referred to his weekend as being the worst weekend of his career.”

Humphrey was equally struck by Hamilton’s demeanour after the chequered flag. “I had a massive smile on my face watching him race in that grand prix,” he said. “Lewis looked like he had a freedom I’ve not seen in a while” — pointing specifically to the moment Hamilton lifted a jubilant Kimi Antonelli at the end of the race as evidence of a seven-time champion rediscovering his enjoyment.

Hamilton himself reflected on the weekend in an Instagram post, crediting the team’s preparation for the turnaround. “P2. Really enjoyed being out there all weekend. It’s great to be fighting at the front and extracting the best out of the car. The changes we made really paid off. I always look forward to coming here. Some good battles and challenging weather conditions — Montreal never disappoints.”

Leclerc, who finished ahead of Hamilton in the standings despite the Briton’s stronger weekend pace, has not publicly elaborated on his characterisation of Montreal as his worst-ever F1 weekend. The next race on the calendar is the Monaco Grand Prix, a circuit where Leclerc has historically struggled to convert pole positions into victories — and where Hamilton will be eager to maintain his newly rediscovered momentum.