Guenther Steiner can see Charles Leclerc having the beating of Lewis Hamilton in their first season as Ferrari team-mates.

That is, Steiner warns, as long as Leclerc is able to learn, from having Hamilton in the same team, what makes him “very good” in races.

Charles Leclerc to defeat Lewis Hamilton in F1 2025?

After an iconic 12-season stint with Mercedes which produced six World Championships, Hamilton has realised a childhood dream by making the move to Ferrari.

There he partners Leclerc, who heads into his seventh season with Ferrari now finding seven-time World Champion Hamilton on the other side of the garage, with Carlos Sainz moving onto Williams having known of Hamilton’s impending arrival before the 2024 campaign got underway.

Hamilton suffered a challenging final season with Mercedes, losing the head-to-head battles versus George Russell 9-15 and 5-19 in race and qualifying trim respectively, and joins Ferrari with doubters to silence.

Hamilton is chasing a record eighth World Championship as he starts his Ferrari chapter, and in a CNN interview, Steiner tipped Ferrari to join McLaren as F1 2025’s strongest forces.

Asked if he shares the opinion of many than McLaren go into the season as favourites, Steiner replied: “Yes, I think so.

“And what I think is the Ferraris will be very close.

“That is, for me, the two teams which, in my opinion, will be strongest.”

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Quizzed on whether this was just him getting caught up in the romanticism of Hamilton at Ferrari, Steiner added: “No, no, no.

“I put that one down to the team, not to the drivers in the moment.

“Because I think Ferrari, last year, the second half of the season, they made good progress, and they seemed to every time they did something, they got quicker.

“So I think they figured out what they need to do. So I think I’m not getting romantic here. I’m staying very technical, and I believe in Ferrari.”

But, if Ferrari do realise their ambitions of a title challenge, who out of Hamilton and Leclerc will emerge as the “lead driver” on that front?

Well, Steiner is putting his eggs in the Leclerc basket.

That is, however, as long as Leclerc can successfully inherit a key Hamilton strength for himself.

“I think Lewis is very good with running races,” said Steiner, “but he’s getting older.

“Charles is very young, and if he picks up the race skills Lewis has got by working with him, or copying him, being in the same team, I think Charles could be the lead driver end of the season.”

F1 2025 is almost upon us, with the Australian Grand Prix taking place on March 16; Round 1 of 24 in what could be one of the most closely-fought seasons F1 has ever seen.

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