Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc slam Isack Hadjar’s bold Ferrari superiority claim as ‘nonsense’

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Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc have vehemently dismissed Isack Hadjar’s assertion that Ferrari possessed the outright fastest car at the Singapore Grand Prix, a claim that suggested Max Verstappen would have won by a greater margin if he had been behind the wheel of a Ferrari. The controversy ignited after Verstappen secured back-to-back victories, including a commanding win at Marina Bay, despite Hadjar’s insistence that Ferrari held the performance edge on that night.

Verstappen clinched pole position by a slender half-tenth over Leclerc and Hamilton, ultimately converting it into a race victory at Singapore, his first triumph at the circuit. Ferrari’s strategic gamble—fielding the two cars on divergent tyre strategies—failed to outpace the Red Bull ace. Yet, Hadjar argued that the Scuderia’s car was dominant, contending, “I don’t think in Singapore it was the fastest car. That’s what I believe. I think if you put Max in the Ferrari, he would have won the race with more margin.” He based this on Ferrari’s tyre choices and qualifying performances, highlighting that Ferrari did not have fresh soft tyres during the race, which he claimed impacted their pace.

Leclerc was swift to reject Hadjar’s points, branding them “nonsense.” The Ferrari driver emphasised the complexity of judging performance margins in a tightly-contested grid, stating, “Isack has no idea what kind of car we drive, and I have no idea what kind of car he drives. It’s such a tight field that is very, very difficult for us to predict.” He underscored that subtle optimisation of the car package plays a far more significant role than external assumptions about outright speed at any given track.

Hamilton echoed Leclerc’s scepticism while praising Hadjar’s talent, but firmly defended Red Bull’s engineering prowess. The seven-time World Champion acknowledged Red Bull’s sustained dominance, crediting their remarkable engine development and overall package. “Red Bull have done an amazing job for many, many years… they proved me wrong,” Hamilton said. “They’ve built the best engine this year. They had a little bit of a wobbly start, but they’ve got an amazing car, great drivers, and clear leadership.” He admitted Ferrari and Mercedes struggled to match Red Bull’s pace, particularly regarding straight-line speed, noting, “They were just as quick through all the corners as us in the last race… and they’re three, four tenths quicker down the straights.”

Hamilton also tempered expectations about his own team's prospects, revealing that a minor upgrade of less than half a tenth of a second at the United States Grand Prix would not suffice to bridge Red Bull’s gap. His candid assessment underscored the challenge ahead for Mercedes and Ferrari in closing the current performance deficit.

This clash of opinions exposes the razor-thin margins defining current Formula 1 competition and highlights the differing perspectives within the paddock on which team truly holds the performance advantage. With Red Bull’s engineering excellence firmly endorsed by Hamilton and Ferrari’s drivers dismissing external critique, the battle for supremacy remains fiercely contested.