Guenther Steiner predicts ‘hard decisions’ from Ferrari chief amid Hamilton and Leclerc rivalry

Guenther Steiner has shared his predictions following Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari, joining Charles Leclerc.

The two drivers are racing as teammates for the first time in 2025 after the seven-time world champion left Mercedes for the ranks of the Scuderia. Replacing Carlos Sainz, now at Williams, the Briton now focuses on adapting to the Maranello outfit in hopes of putting himself in contention for an eighth world championship. 

However, like every driver on the grid, his biggest rivalry comes from within: his own teammate. 

Ferrari Vice Chairman Piero Ferrari has framed the Hamilton-Leclerc partnership as symbiotic, hoping to put questions around their rivalry to rest:

“It’s always been like that between team-mates, it’s part of the game,” he told Autosprint. “In Charles’ case there is also the generational discourse we are witnessing in tennis with Sinner and other youngsters: the freshness of the young against the experience and solidity of those who are many years older.

“I am sure that the rivalry between Hamilton and Leclerc will benefit both of them.”

This seems like a diplomatic point of view and one that the former Haas team principal was keen to explore in a discussion with CNN.

“Both of these drivers they drove for Fred’s F2 and F3 teams, Lewis and Charles,” he said. “So he has got good relationships in person. That’s for both of them.

“They have respect for Fred because without Fred they wouldn’t be where they are. So that is a good place to be.”

This strong relationship, however, will make it hard for the team chief.

“Obviously there will be times when Fred needs to take hard decisions. But I don’t think he is afraid of it,” Steiner added. “I think he put himself in having these two drivers in good position to win a championship.”

After a long three days in Bahrain for pre-season testing, the Tifosi watched their team leave with smiles on their faces. 

“I would say this is the most positive feeling that I’ve had in a long time,” Hamilton told the media on Friday. 

Vasseur added:

“It has been hard to get a clear read on the overall situation here in Bahrain, as the conditions were changing quite a lot day by day and from the morning to the afternoon, so it was more similar to Vegas than to the Bahrain we usually know.

“Over the past six months, we have worked very hard on this car and have made a good improvement, but we will have to wait until we are all on track in Melbourne to understand where we are.

“If we look at the hierarchy of previous years, what we saw here was not the same as in qualifying a week later, under the same conditions. We will go from 10-15 degrees on the track to the 45 we will have in Australia, so in Melbourne, it will probably be a whole different story.”

He ended confidently:

“We want to fight for both championships, as we know we have two drivers who can do it, and the mood in the team is very positive. We will continue to work hard to be ready in two weeks’ time for the start of the season.”