Lewis Hamilton announced his departure from Mercedes at the end of the 2024 season and is set to join Scuderia Ferrari at the beginning of next. The Brit will replace Carlos Sainz at the Prancing Horses, who signed a deal with Williams.
The seven-time champion will team up with Charles Leclerc, who has been a part of Ferrari since 2019. The current driver is eager to assess his performance in comparison to Hamilton while sharing the same car.
“I will be super curious to see what he has done right for all his career to have had all the success that he’s had. He has very few weaknesses, well actually, I don’t know any weaknesses of Lewis, he’s a super strong driver, always there, super fast, super consistent,” Leclerc said in an interview with ESPN.
“So for me, it is going to be super interesting to be able to actually look at the data and know that whatever he does I can do, because we have the same car,” he added.
Leclerc mentioned that he already shares a solid rapport with Hamilton and anticipates that their friendship will thrive when they become teammates in 2025.
“We did know each other quite well and obviously since the Ferrari announcement we have got closer than before, but still I knew him before and we talked about the passions that we share, like music, and fashion also. He is a very creative person just like I am.
Having raced alongside four-time champion Sebastian Vettel, Leclerc is unfazed by the prospect of sharing a team with Hamilton. His experience of stepping into the shoes of a legendary driver has equipped him with the confidence to handle the challenges. This pairing is expected to be mutually beneficial, as both drivers bring immense talent and experience to the Ferrari team.
Leclerc is currently positioned third in the drivers’ standings with 245 points, trailing Max Verstappen, who leads with 331 points, and Lando Norris in second place with 279 points. In the constructors’ championship, Ferrari is also third with 441 points, behind McLaren’s 516 points and Red Bull’s 475 points.
Following a challenging mid-season phase, Ferrari has made a notable comeback during the recent races in Belgium and Singapore, highlighted by Leclerc’s victory in Monza and several podium finishes at Spa, Zandvoort, and Baku.
Despite the recent improvement in Ferrari’s performance, Leclerc cautioned that this resurgence might be specific to the tracks they’ve raced on recently and also emphasized the importance of luck in their pursuit of the championship.
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Mohd Faisal Hakak is a sports author from Kashmir. He likes to keep tabs on the sporting world with a keen interest in football, motorsports, NBA, and other marquee sports. He is a science graduate from Islamia College Srinagar.
