Montoya says Hamilton's new engineers at Ferrari are finally listening to him

Lewis Hamilton's second-place finish at the Canadian Grand Prix was not just his best result as a Ferrari driver — it was, arguably, his most complete weekend in red. He was quicker than Charles Leclerc from start to finish, eventually crossing the line over 30 seconds clear of his teammate, having started from the third row in both the Sprint and the main race.

A Partnership That Wasn't Working

Hamilton's first season at Ferrari was defined as much by off-track friction as on-track results. His partnership with race engineer Riccardo Adami broke down and Adami was reassigned at the end of the year. Ferrari initially turned to Carlo Santi — who had previously worked with Kimi Räikkönen — on an interim basis, while the team worked to install Cedric Grosjean, a new signing from McLaren, as the permanent replacement.

Montoya believes the root cause of Hamilton's early struggles was cultural rather than purely technical. Ferrari, like many teams with a deeply embedded philosophy, had a defined way of running its car — and they expected their drivers to adapt to it.

"I think that's a lot of what Lewis felt last year — I'm not happy with the car, I'm not comfortable with the car," Montoya explained. "When you're a team, a lot of times it's like, 'This is our theory, this is how we run the car.'"

The shift, in Montoya's view, is that the new personnel around Hamilton have reversed that dynamic. Rather than insisting Hamilton conform to Ferrari's traditional setup parameters, they have adjusted to what he needs.

"I think the new people that came onboard for him adjusted to what he wanted. Once he gets comfortable, then the car starts performing."

This shift in approach has clearly borne fruit. As our earlier analysis noted, Hamilton also made the unconventional decision to skip Ferrari's simulator ahead of Canada, opting for data analysis instead — a choice that appears to have paid off handsomely.

The Leclerc Problem

Montoya's assessment, however, comes with a significant caveat. If Hamilton's setup preferences are now driving Ferrari's philosophy for both cars, Charles Leclerc could find himself increasingly on the back foot.

In Canada, Leclerc openly admitted he had no confidence in the car and was unable to get the tyres into the correct operating window — a stark contrast to Hamilton's controlled, aggressive performance on the other side of the garage.

"The problem now is they need to make sure they separate what Charles wants and what Lewis wants," Montoya warned. "If Lewis is quicker and the philosophy is what only Lewis wants, then Charles is going to struggle over and over again."

It is a delicate internal balancing act that Ferrari must now manage carefully. Satisfying one driver's needs at the expense of the other is a path that has damaged teams before.

Villeneuve Savours Hamilton's Aggression

Montoya's broadcast colleague Jacques Villeneuve offered a more celebratory take on Hamilton's weekend. The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve has historically been kind to Hamilton — he now has 11 podiums from 17 visits — and Villeneuve clearly enjoyed watching him exploit that familiarity to the full.

"It was good to see Lewis being able to drive aggressively," Villeneuve said. "The car seemed to be very precise. He was sliding it, but not destroying the tyres. He was having fun."

With Monaco now on the horizon — a circuit where Ferrari are regarded as favourites — Hamilton has a genuine opportunity to take his first race win in red. Standing between him and that milestone will be Charles Leclerc, a driver who treats the streets of the Principality as his personal domain.

The engineer question, and whether Ferrari can truly serve two drivers with diverging needs, may well define how that battle plays out.