Ferrari may be the focus of the Formula 1 world right now, but all of the attention is focused on Lewis Hamilton.
After 17 seasons racing for McLaren and Mercedes, Hamilton will take part in his first race as a Ferrari driver at the 2025 Australian Grand Prix.
However, with so much focus on the seven-time world champion, his new teammate Charles Leclerc might spot the perfect to go under the radar and attempt to win his first world championship.
Although the 2024 championship battle was between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, they were both outscored by Leclerc over the final few races.
He was impeccably consistent, and only Ferrari’s botched update package from the Spanish Grand Prix stopped him from finishing at least second in the Drivers’ Championship for a second consecutive season.
Preparation for Leclerc is set to be key with many expecting the 2025 season to be one of the closest in recent history.
That hasn’t exactly gone to plan yet, with both his initial run at Fiorano and testing in Barcelona cut short.
While Hamilton’s crash at Barcelona has been spun into a positive, it’s hard for Leclerc to see the bright side as he wasn’t able to jump into the car himself.
However, when it comes to Leclerc getting ready to race, photographer Kym Illman has shared one unusual decision he used to make on the grid that was very different from the rest of his rivals.
Ferrari star Charles Leclerc’s ‘rather odd’ preparations for F1 races
Talking about what drivers would do in the build-up to each Grand Prix, Illman said: “Something I noticed early on in Charles Leclerc’s career, particularly the first season that he did with Ferrari.
“He would often just sit next to his car and not go back to the garage after either getting out of his or after the national anthem which I thought was rather odd.
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“Really, when you saw the number of media, cameraman, photographers, interviewers around him, it was crazy.
“But today that’s changed. Certainly, if you’re an F2 driver you don’t go back to the garage between getting out of your car and a race start, that is something reserved only for F1.
“I guess because it’s so busy on the grid.”
Why the Monaco Grand Prix is very different from every other race in Formula 1
The Monaco Grand Prix is very special to Leclerc as his home race and he finally won the event in 2024.
Illman also shared why F1 drivers have to change their pre-race preparations when they’re racing at the Monaco Grand Prix.
After the anthems, Illman explained what typically happens next and continued: “The drivers are cleared to go back to their car or go back to their garage.
READ MORE: Which F1 drivers do well at Monaco GP including Ayrton Senna
“They’ll walk back along the straight, past all the cars, go out a middle gate and perhaps back to their garage.
“But in some tracks and I’ll give you one example, Monaco, they can’t actually get back through the crowd because it’s so busy.
“So, instead they walk forwards, past the start line, turn right and come back down the pit lane.”
Leclerc may have been pleased to handle the media scrutiny of staying on the grid while many of his rivals disappeared before the race.
However, when the cars are on the grid in Melbourne, it’s likely that the media scrum will be turning their attention to his new teammate, allowing Leclerc to mentally prepare in peace ahead of arguably the most important season of his career.
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