Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc produced a thrilling podium fight at the Chinese Grand Prix that the seven-time champion called “the best racing I’ve ever experienced in Formula 1.” The pair repeatedly overtook and re-overtook around the Shanghai International Circuit, showing the strengths of F1’s new regulations, after already coming close during Saturday’s Sprint.
There was only minor contact — a “kiss,” as Hamilton put it — and Hamilton emerged ahead to claim his first podium for Ferrari. “It felt like go-karting, back and forth, back and forth, and you could really position your car in a nice way where there was a thin piece of paper between us sometimes,” he said. “But we didn’t exchange any paint. I think that’s down to great drivers and respect.”
George Russell watched much of the duel before finding a way past both Ferraris and admitted he expected them to collide. “I was just waiting for the two of them to collide and somehow they didn’t. It was some of the most aggressive racing I’ve seen for a while,” he said, adding he would have enjoyed the spectacle if he weren’t fighting for the race win.
Jacques Villeneuve questioned whether Ferrari’s intra-team fight could cost them against Mercedes. Leclerc began the battle just before halfway, with both Ferraris running on the podium and Russell in fourth. Villeneuve suggested both drivers want to be “the man” at Ferrari and that their fighting—if it continues—could be damaging. “It turned out OK but it was a little bit extreme and destroyed Ferrari’s race. They were running second and third, fighting so hard, destroying their tyres,” he said. Villeneuve warned that such battles allow rivals to close up, noting Mercedes should be wary because Ferrari are not far off in points.
Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur defended leaving the drivers to race. “I have a huge respect for both of them. They are professional and I think it makes sense in this situation to let them race,” he said. Vasseur acknowledged it can look foolish in hindsight but argued competition inside the team spurs improvement. “As long as it’s done like it was done in China, even a couple of times in the radio they told us that they had good fun, I don’t want to freeze the position.”
The symmetry between the team-mates is a newer development: last year Leclerc was clearly quicker, so intra-team scraps were rare. But the opening races of 2026 have shown them to be much closer in performance, raising the prospect Ferrari may need to intervene if battles escalate. The pair’s eagerness in China was partly driven by the likelihood of Safety Car interruptions, which can create cheap pit-stop windows and shuffle race strategy.
Earlier in the Chinese race, Leclerc stacked behind Hamilton during pit stops after Lance Stroll brought out a Safety Car, showing how tightly the duo’s strategy was entwined. The increased unreliability of 2026 cars also raises the chance of more Safety Cars or Virtual Safety Cars, situations that can reward opportunistic pit calls and intensify intra-team urgency.
Ferrari’s handling of team orders has already been scrutinised this season. At last year’s Miami Grand Prix, the team were slow to order Hamilton to let Leclerc through when Leclerc appeared faster, prompting a tense radio exchange in which Hamilton quipped to his engineer to “have a tea break while you’re at it.” Hamilton has since worked with interim race engineer Carlo Santi and said he felt more settled. “I think I came into the season with the confidence that I used to have… I just had to bide my time,” he said, reflecting on the struggle and satisfaction of getting a podium in a competitive field.
If Hamilton keeps up his strong start in 2026, a first Ferrari win for him looks possible — which would be a welcome problem for the team, giving them two highly competitive drivers likely to race each other frequently. The challenge for Ferrari will be to manage those battles so they don’t cost points to Mercedes or other rivals.
Formula 1 now heads to Suzuka for the Japanese Grand Prix (March 27-29), where Ferrari will hope to balance internal competition with the wider championship fight.