Anthony Davidson claims Charles Leclerc took advantage of Lewis Hamilton’s tyre issues in China

Anthony Davidson thinks Charles Leclerc made the most of Lewis Hamilton’s tyre struggles to claim second place in the Sprint at the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix.

The pair delivered a double podium for Scuderia Ferrari in Shanghai, while George Russell continued his strong start to the season with another win, making it three from three. Still, Hamilton didn’t make it easy for his former teammate early on.

Starting from P4, Hamilton was quick off the line and got past Lando Norris by Turn 2 before going after Russell. The seven-time champion even managed to take the lead at Turn 9 but couldn’t hold it as Russell fought back later in the race.

By Lap 7 of 19, Hamilton’s pace had clearly dropped off and Leclerc noticed right away, telling Ferrari over team radio that his teammate was “struggling.” Not long after, he made his move into Turn 1 to secure second place.

How Charles Leclerc capitalised on Lewis Hamilton’s tyre damage

Hamilton refused to yield, and Leclerc moved wide through Turn 2 to cover off his teammate. Anthony Davidson felt there was nothing wrong with how Leclerc defended the position and agreed that Hamilton was struggling.

Leclerc looked stronger at that stage of the race, according to the former BAR driver. He thought Hamilton had already done too much damage to his medium C3 Pirellis during his earlier fight with Russell, so even though Hamilton tried to respond on Lap 9, it was already too late.

“He did that intentionally,” Davidson told Sky Sports F1: “He knew that Lewis was going to try and hang it around the outside. So he just let the car ease out as wide as he possibly could. But that’s because Hamilton must have used a defensive boost down the back straight.

Charles would have known that and then he used his down the main straight.”

“But I think Leclerc having the advantage at the start then [to] look at Lewis’ left front tyre. He had the advantage to just hang back, watch the action unfold. And the two drivers in front, George and Lewis fighting it out, I think did extra damage to their front left tyres.”

Lewis Hamilton secures his second Ferrari podium in the 2026 Shanghai Sprint

Hamilton’s previous podium with Ferrari also came in Shanghai, when he won the Sprint in 2025. Until Saturday’s race, that had been his only top-three finish for the team. The seven-time world champion ended this year’s event in third, with Leclerc finishing second behind Russell after a late safety car period.

The race was neutralised on Lap 13 of 19 when Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg stopped on track, requiring a recovery. Both Ferrari and Mercedes took the opportunity to pit their drivers for fresh tyres during the caution.

The pit stops worked in Hamilton’s favour, allowing him to reclaim third place. Mercedes rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli had passed both Hamilton and Leclerc before the safety car but carried a 10-second time penalty from an earlier incident involving Lando Norris.