Davidson challenges Hill’s call to make Hamilton Ferrari’s No. 1

Anthony Davidson has challenged Damon Hill’s call for Ferrari to make Lewis Hamilton its clear number one, saying the status should be earned within the team rather than imposed on Charles Leclerc.

Hill made his case after the incident between Hamilton and Leclerc in Mexico. He urged Ferrari to choose a lead driver and back Hamilton, citing the team’s investment in him and the pole positions and race wins he said Hamilton had achieved in a Ferrari in 2026. A competitive car in 2027, Hill said, could allow Ferrari to win both championships; he questioned how it could do so if its drivers continued racing each other as they had.

Davidson pointed to Max Verstappen at Red Bull. He asked whether the team also gives Verstappen better equipment, but said the driver had earned his standing through lap-time dominance. Davidson likened that principle to Michael Schumacher against Rubens Barrichello, Felipe Massa and Eddie Irvine. He said he was uncomfortable with an arrangement requiring Leclerc to finish behind Hamilton, particularly given the pace Leclerc had shown in 2025.

Hill also described a political problem inside Ferrari, saying factions seemed to be taking sides between its drivers, and urged team principal Fred Vasseur to decide how the battle should be managed.