While all the attention heading into the 2025 Formula 1 season is on Lewis Hamilton, fans would be mistaken if they think they can write off his new teammate Charles Leclerc.
Ferrari may have ended the 2024 campaign without any silverware, but all the signs at the end of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix pointed towards the team being on the precipice of achieving greatness.
Heading into the final race of the season, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz knew they had a chance of toppling McLaren in the Constructors’ Championship.
Max Verstappen did the team a favour by spinning Oscar Piastri and taking him out of the race and David Coulthard hailed Leclerc’s perfect performance that saw him finish on the podium despite starting at the back of the grid, but it wasn’t enough.
While Sainz had arguably the strongest campaign of his F1 career to date in 2024, team principal Frederic Vasseur will be delighted that he’s managed to recruit Lewis Hamilton to join Leclerc this year.
Formula 1 fans believe Ferrari have the strongest line-up on the grid in 2025 and if the team’s new car is as competitive as last year’s, then they’ve got a fantastic chance of ending their long wait for a championship.
Charles Leclerc names Ayrton Senna as his ‘only idol’
While Hamilton arrives at Ferrari with the greatest record in the sport’s history, Leclerc is still waiting to win his first championship.
He came closest in 2022 when he finished runner-up to Verstappen, although he made too many mistakes and was the subject of plenty of questionable strategy calls that year.
Ferrari have improved their strategy decisions and with an even quicker car, Leclerc will know that 2025 is going to be an important year for establishing his legacy.
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In an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, the Monegasque driver was asked who his all-time ‘champion’ was across all sports and answered: “Ayrton Senna, a legend.
“And not just in motorsport. He’s the only idol I’ve ever had.”
Ayrton Senna is among Formula 1’s greatest drivers and the three-time world champion could have easily added to that tally were he not killed at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.
Hamilton paid tribute to Senna at last year’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix and the new Ferrari teammates have something else in common when it comes to their love of the heroic Brazilian.
Charles Leclerc entering the most important season of his Formula 1 career
It would be unfair to suggest that Leclerc has previously had the opportunity to race a championship-winning F1 car during his career thus far.
However, the fact that he’s come out on top against every teammate he’s faced – including four-time champion Sebastian Vettel – highlights that he’s a real contender for the 2025 title.
Hamilton will be a very different opponent for Leclerc than Sainz or Vettel given his pedigree, even if he may not be on the same level as the Monegasque driver over one lap.
READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton shares Ayrton Senna’s view on his new Formula 1 team Ferrari
Leclerc has to use that to his advantage, with Ferrari unlikely to name a number-one driver at the beginning of the season.
If he can consistently earn track position by outqualifying Hamilton at the beginning of the year, then Vasseur will be forced to prioritise his strategy.
It’s a method Senna regularly used to his advantage during his time in F1 as an elite qualifier and could be the difference between Leclerc challenging for a title or supporting Hamilton in his quest to become an eight-time world champion.
