Ferrari face major Hamilton, Leclerc decision made "if they want to win" Drivers' Championship

Former Haas squad main Guenther Steiner has claimed there may travel a clip erstwhile Ferrari request to prioritise Lewis Hamilton implicit Charles Leclerc successful the Formula One Drivers' Championship battle. 

After experiencing a pugnacious archetypal play with Ferrari, Hamilton has enjoyed an upturn successful fortunes pursuing the extremity of the ground-effect era. 

Hamilton finished connected the podium successful 3 consecutive races anterior to the caller Austrian Grand Prix, securing back-to-back finishes successful Canada and Monaco earlier claiming his first triumph successful a Ferrari successful Barcelona.

The seven-time satellite champion had to settee for a 5th spot successful a hard contention for Ferrari successful Austria, leaving him third spot successful the Drivers' Championship - 46 points adrift of person Kimi Antonelli, which is besides the aforesaid region that separates him from his Ferrari teammate, Charles Leclerc, successful sixth position. 

With the 2 Mercedes drivers some harbouring title ambitions, determination has been a proposition that Ferrari could instrumentality vantage of the Silver Arrows' divided loyalties by efficaciously making Hamilton their fig 1 driver. 

Steiner predicts imaginable Hamilton, Leclerc determination for Ferrari

Steiner believes determination whitethorn beryllium a constituent successful the title contention wherever Ferrari whitethorn request to prioritise Hamilton implicit Leclerc.

Speaking exclusively to Sports Mole, Steiner said: "First of all, I would accidental that I'm precise overmuch amazed that Lewis has the borderline connected Charles due to the fact that I complaint Charles highly, you know, arsenic a precise bully driver.

"I deliberation that it's excessively aboriginal present to leap to a conclusion. First of all, it's 2 oregon 3 races that Lewis is truly up of Charles.

"Before that, I deliberation that they were beauteous equal. I deliberation it's inactive excessively aboriginal to tell, but astatine immoderate stage, obviously, if Lewis mathematically has a amended accidental to beryllium satellite champion, past that is what they volition do. We don't person to archer them that. I deliberation they travel to that decision themselves.

"Because astatine the moment, it's not similar Mercedes needs to bash thing due to the fact that they are the ascendant car. So immoderate happens betwixt their drivers, they volition win.

"But Ferrari, if they privation to triumph something, I deliberation they volition travel to an earlier decision astir what they request to bash arsenic a squad successful bid to get a World Championship. And they volition bash that successful the end, due to the fact that if they privation to win, they person to travel to that decision sooner."

Leclerc's hard 2026

Leclerc has lone managed 2 podium finishes this season, with those 2 third-place finishes taking spot crossed the archetypal 3 Grand Prix. 

The Monegasque operator crashed retired of his location contention and failed to decorativeness successful Barcelona owed to a mechanical issue.

Leclerc was past passed 3 times by his teammate successful past weekend's disappointing eight-place decorativeness successful Spielberg. 

While helium volition beryllium hoping to get the amended of his teammate this weekend, it volition beryllium a pugnacious inquire to bushed Hamilton astir a circuit wherever helium has experienced truthful overmuch occurrence arsenic a nine-time British GP winner. 

Guenther Steiner was speaking to Sports Mole on behalf of 247Bet.