The dynamic between Ferrari’s new teammates, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, is about to turn into one of the compelling storylines of the 2025 System 1 season.
The final time Hamilton was paired with a brand new teammate on the grid was when George Russell changed Valtteri Bottas at Mercedes forward of the 2021 season. Russell, having spent a number of seasons studying from the seven-time world champion, finally completed forward of Hamilton within the Drivers’ Championship final yr. In 2025, he steps into the position of workforce chief at Mercedes, alongside rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
For Leclerc, the truth of Carlos Sainz being changed by Hamilton at Ferrari is now absolutely settled, following weeks of working collectively in Maranello, Fiorano, and on the Circuit de Catalunya..
Hamilton’s current crash throughout a Ferrari take a look at has already impacted Leclerc’s preparations for the 2025 season. The injury to their shared automobile meant Leclerc needed to sit out a part of the testing, and his subsequent session at Fiorano was reduce brief by unfavorable climate situations.
Each drivers enter the 2025 season with a singular goal: to finish Ferrari’s lengthy title drought. The Scuderia’s final championship got here in 2007 when Kimi Raikkonen defeated Lewis Hamilton by a single level within the Briton’s rookie yr. With a purpose to beat the likes of McLaren, Crimson Bull, and Mercedes—Hamilton’s former workforce—workforce principal Frederic Vasseur will want each drivers to work in unison throughout pre-season testing and on the season opener in Australia.
Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc: Constructing the Partnership
In response to reviews from the Italian every day newsoaoer Gazzetta dello Sport, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc have been collaborating properly earlier than Hamilton even set foot in Ferrari’s Maranello headquarters. Leclerc himself has acknowledged that his relationship with Hamilton differs from that with Carlos Sainz, however insists that it’s not essentially a unfavourable improvement.
The report means that Hamilton has been actively working to construct rapport with Leclerc because the begin of final season, recognizing that they’d quickly share a typical goal in 2025 and past. It’s believed that Hamilton used each alternative of their conferences to be taught extra about his new teammate and to share his imaginative and prescient for Ferrari’s future path.
Even whereas Hamilton was targeted on profiting from his last season with Mercedes, he was already maintaining a detailed eye on his impending swap to Ferrari. System 1 commentator Martin Brundle famous that Lewis Hamilton would have been significantly impressed by what he noticed from Ferrari throughout a race final yr, with Leclerc’s sturdy end to the season serving as a supply of encouragement for Hamilton, who now believes 2025 may very well be the yr he captures a historic eighth title.
Charles Leclerc: Rising to the Problem
For the Monegasque driver, the problem is obvious: he should leverage the expertise he’s gained over the previous few years to say himself in opposition to his new teammate. Charles Leclerc is more likely to be sooner out of the gate within the 2025 season, as Hamilton continues to adapt to Ferrari’s techniques. Charles Leclerc’s pure qualifying tempo also needs to give him an early benefit, and if he can translate that into strong race outcomes, he may put stress on Fred Vasseur with regards to deciding the workforce’s number-one driver for the yr.
Ought to the Monegasque place himself as a robust contender in opposition to the likes of Max Verstappen, Lando Norris, and George Russell, Lewis Hamilton might discover himself ready till 2026 to mount his subsequent critical title problem.
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