Charles Leclerc spent off-season “in the shadow” as Lewis Hamilton joins Ferrari

Charles Leclerc has admitted that his off-season was spent “a bit more in the shadow,” as Lewis Hamilton joins him at Ferrari.

The beginning of 2024 saw jaws drop within the Formula 1 community as rumours of Hamilton leaving Mercedes for the Scuderia were confirmed. Carlos Sainz was dropped from the team, eventually making his way to Williams, and Leclerc was faced with an intimidating challenge considering his teammate’s history in the sport.

Naturally, Ferrari’s marketing campaign began as the Tifosi welcomed the seven-time world champion into the fold. While we saw plenty of imagery of the drivers together wearing red, Leclerc’s role in the build-up to the 2025 season was noticeably smaller than the former Mercedes driver’s. 

“It’s really nice to see,” Leclerc said of Hamilton integrating so deeply into the team, comparing it to when he joined in 2019. “Obviously it’s very different, the situation that Lewis finds himself in joining the team.”

The two made their official debut as teammates at the F1 75 live event, where they also revealed the livery of the SF-25. Beneath the strong branding from their title sponsor, HP, the car features a darker red canvas with white elements on the wings. While Leclerc has been embedded in the Ferrari family since 2016 when he joined their driver academy, this Italian home is brand new to the Briton.

“When I joined, I only had done one year in Formula 1 [with Sauber], so everything was still new to me and I had to learn how a team like Ferrari would work in Formula 1, even though I knew the factory and everything by being in the Ferrari Driver Academy before.

“For Lewis, an Italian team is pretty new to him, but he has achieved so much and he arrives here as a legend of the sport.”

Hamilton has spoken about this, confirming that he is learning Italian. On top of that, he’s enjoying what the home country of Ferrari has to offer, via PlanetF1.

“I’m going to eat the most incredible pizzas next year… I’ll have to be careful with my weight because I simply love Italian food,” he said.

Leclerc continued:

“It was really exciting to see how happy and excited he was about the whole thing. For me that meant that the off-season was a bit more in the shadow, but I enjoyed it.

“I focused on myself, I’m pushing at the maximum to be ready for the first race, and I’m really looking forward to this year. I’m hoping that we’ll start the year in a more positive way compared to last year.”

The Tifosi have high expectations this year for their team, especially after such a strong finish in 2024 where they ended second in the Constructors’ Standings behind McLaren. Pre-season testing hinted that the Italian squad is still a few tenths off their Papaya rivals, but the true pecking order will only be confirmed at Australia.