The battle between the two Ferrari drivers in 2025 is set to be one of the most intriguing storylines of the season, as Lewis Hamilton goes up against Charles Leclerc.
Hamilton appears to have settled in well at Ferrari, having participated in various tests at their Maranello headquarters at the start of the season.
Karun Chandhok said the seven-time world champion looked comfortable when out on track in the SF-25, although over the three days, he did not complete a race run after Ferrari said a ‘telemetry anomaly’ interrupted his planned run on the third day.
Hamilton instead opted to focus on his interaction with engineer Riccardo Adami, while getting used to the way Ferrari operates trackside. Alex Brundle said Hamilton’s Ferrari looked tricky to drive at times, although broadly he looked competitive as they worked on car setup.
There are questions over whether Hamilton will beat Leclerc throughout the season, given his status as Ferrari’s protege. Former F1 team principal Guenther Steiner has explained the main factors as to why he thinks Leclerc will beat the seven-time world champion when speaking on CNN.
Guenther Steiner thinks Charles Leclerc will start to ‘copy’ Lewis Hamilton to beat him
Leclerc is known for being a one-lap specialist in F1, with his blistering qualifying pace expected to be tough for Hamilton to beat.
Hamilton’s best lap in the SF-25 at Fiorano was eight-tenths slower than Leclerc, despite the Monogasque getting to run in the car first.
Steiner believes Leclerc’s qualifying performances will be a main factor in how he beats Hamilton this year, coupled with learning from his data for the races.
“Lewis is very good at running races, but he’s getting older. Charles is very young and if after a few races he’s working with Lewis or copying him in the same team, I think Charles could be the lead driver at the end of the season.”
Guenther Steiner expects Fred Vasseur to make ‘hard decisions’ in Ferrari rivalry
Ferrari is known for being a team that is not shy to employ team orders to get their way, having done so over the years with driver partnerships including Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello, and Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa.
Should they be in contention for a world championship, team principal Fred Vassuer might face some tough decisions according to Steiner.
“Both of these drivers they drove for Fred’s F2 and F3 teams, Lewis and Charles, so he has got good relationships in person. That’s for both of them.
“There will be times when Fred needs to make hard decisions. But I don’t think he is afraid of it. I think he put himself in having these two drivers in good position to win a championship.”
Hamilton will be hopeful that his preparation for the year will put him on par with Leclerc, but for the moment it looks like the Monogasque might have the edge.
