Benedetto Vigna, the Ferrari chief executive, is convinced that Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc will establish a “good partnership” over the course of the F1 2025 season.

It comes after reports that Ferrari will not hesitate to impose team orders as they seek to end their long wait for an F1 title triumph.

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With Ferrari, Mercedes, Red Bull and eventual Constructors’ champions McLaren all winning a number of races last year, the F1 2025 season is expected to be the most competitive in some time.

Reports from Italy last week claimed that Ferrari, who remain without a World Championship of any kind since 2008, are set to take a decision to put their full backing behind either Hamilton and Leclerc after the first few races of the season.

Fred Vasseur, the Ferrari team principal, has previously spoken of his willingness to take tough decisions – including the introduction of team orders – to enhance the team’s victory hopes.

It has upped the pressure on Hamilton, who was heavily beaten by team-mate George Russell in qualifying conditions across his final season with Mercedes in 2024, to make a fast start to life at Ferrari.

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Ferrari’s signing of Hamilton, who turned 40 last month, has been criticised by some as a marketing ploy after the company’s share price rocketed by 10 per cent to a new all-time high after the seven-time World Champion’s shock switch from Mercedes was announced last year.

Appearing on a conference call to discuss Ferrari’s 2024 accounts, Vigna admitted that Hamilton’s arrival will be beneficial to Ferrari from a marketing perspective.

Yet he insisted that success on track is the team’s primary motivation with Hamilton in F1 2025, with the chief executive expecting the new signing to enjoy a productive relationship with Leclerc.

Vigna said: “We aim to compete at the top in both the Formula 1 and endurance championships, with a reinforced team and a clear objective: to win.

“On a brand level, the arrival of Lewis is certainly good for us. It will be a good partnership with Leclerc.”

Vigna’s comments come after Martin Brundle, the Sky F1 pundit, warned that Ferrari will expect Hamilton to be fully up to speed within three races.

And he claimed that there will be “no excuses” if Hamilton is not quickly on the pace of Leclerc, widely regarded as one of the fastest drivers on the current grid.

Asked if Hamilton must start quickly at his new team, Brundle told Sky Sports News: “He’s got to do that. He’s got to use his experience.

“There are no excuses at this level for anybody, even the rookies, but you might give the rookies half a season to get their act together, maximum.

“They will expect somebody like Lewis to have aced the people around him and the car within two or three races, to be honest.

“Never underestimate Lewis Hamilton.”

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Hamilton’s relationship with his new team-mate survived a potential early flashpoint last week as the seven-time World Champion crashed out of a private test in Barcelona.

The extent of the damage and the lengthy repair work required to the SF-23 car meant Leclerc was unable to take to the track at all last Wednesday as planned.

Ferrari are thought to have brought their 2023 car along to this week’s Pirelli tyre test at the Spanish Grand Prix venue, with Leclerc expected to make up for his lost track time at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Despite costing his team-mate valuable pre-season running, F1 analyst and former Ferrari sponsorship boss Peter Windsor claimed that Hamilton’s accident was actually a positive sign, with his mistake in the final sector a promising indication of his comfort with the car.

Appearing on his YouTube channel, Windsor said: “On the face of it, Lewis Hamilton’s first proper test with Ferrari was not the greatest of tests in that it ended in a massive shunt coming out of the last corner.

“My take is that it was actually a very, very good test for Lewis and I think all Lewis Hamilton fans can feel delighted at the way that test went.

“Yes, there was the shunt – but let’s look at the buildup to that shunt and the reasons for it.

“Nothing to do with a bump on the road or any of that stuff, it was all tied to how good Lewis felt in the car and how he’s feeling within the team.

“He feels great in the team and that car, the 2023 Ferrari, which was not the greatest of grand prix cars built by Ferrari.

“But in that car, Lewis Hamilton felt better than he’s felt certainly over the last couple of years in Formula 1 in the Mercedes, probably going back to the beginning of 2022.

“He loved the feeling of feeling the road again and actually being a part of the car and kind of being on top of the car and getting it to be a part of his DNA and what he does in a race car.

“He loved that.”

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