Damon Hill is shocked that Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has still not made Lewis Hamilton their number one, and must do so if the Scuderia want to win the 2027 title.

Vasseur has so far remained committed to his desire to treat Hamilton and Charles Leclerc equally since Ferrari signed the most successful driver in F1 history to join their golden boy in 2025. But Hill thinks the situation at Ferrari has led to too much internal fighting in 2026.

Last year was a very one-sided duel at the Scuderia, as Hamilton struggled to adapt to the ways that Ferrari operate in the final year of the ground-effect era he hated. But F1’s 2026 regulations have brought the best out of Hamilton again, freeing him to challenge Leclerc.

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Damon Hill cannot understand why Ferrari have not made Lewis Hamilton their No1 driver

Through the first 18/23 rounds of 2026 ahead of the Mexico City Grand Prix, Hamilton has scored 241 points to Leclerc’s 233. Yet Leclerc leads Hamilton 10-8 in their qualifying head-to-head so far this season, and the two Ferrari drivers are tied at 9-9 for Grand Prix results.

Hamilton is also the last Ferrari driver standing in the title fight, although he must win the Mexico City GP and hope that Mercedes’ driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli does not score any points. So, the hope at Ferrari of their first F1 title since 2007 is already switching to 2027.

Thus, Hill believes that Vasseur must make Hamilton the number one driver at Ferrari and give him everything he needs to bring the F1 drivers’ championship back to Maranello. He would feel “sorry” for Leclerc being made the No2, but the 29-year-old is Ferrari’s future.

Hill told Gazzetta dello Sport: “I don’t know what’s going on within the team, but I get the impression that the drivers are battling it out for the captain’s rank.

“The team have remained neutral, but they really should decide who to back. When Michael Schumacher was in Maranello, the team’s attention was focused exclusively on him.

“We don’t know how much longer Lewis will carry on; he’s not in his 20s anymore. After signing him in 2025, Ferrari have never really put him at the heart of the project.

“I’m convinced that Hamilton can still perform at the very highest level. What he’s achieved in Formula 1 is simply extraordinary. So I’d back him.

“Perhaps team principal Frederic Vasseur should say, ‘We’ll give Lewis everything he needs in 2027’… I feel sorry for Charles, but he still has many years ahead of him.”

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It has been said that Vasseur refuses to make Hamilton the No1 at Ferrari given that Leclerc is their future, whereas the Briton is coming towards the end of his F1 career. Hamilton will turn 42 in January and is only under contract for 2027, whereas Leclerc has only just turned 29 and signed a new contract keeping him in Maranello through at least 2030 back in June.

Leclerc is a part of the furniture in Maranello, as well, after he first joined the Ferrari Driver Academy in 2016 before making his F1 debut with Sauber in 2018 and then moving into the Scuderia’s garage in 2019. This week’s Mexico City GP even marks Leclerc’s 171st race as a Ferrari driver, moving him closer to breaking Michael Schumacher’s record for races in red.

Leclerc is “not looking forward” to having more races for Ferrari than Schumacher, who put on the famous red overalls for a total of 180 times between 1996 and 2006. As long as the Monegasque does not miss any races, and as long as F1 does not cancel any races, Leclerc will break Schumacher’s record for races for Ferrari at the 2027 Miami Grand Prix in May.