Charles Leclerc will know how big an opportunity he has to win his first Formula 1 world championship in 2025.
Although Ferrari haven’t won a title since the 2008 Constructors’ Championship, they showed their potential at the end of last season.
Although the championship battle was between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, all of a sudden, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were constantly challenging for victories.
Sainz’s win in Mexico City was fantastic, leading from the front after a stellar pole position lap.
Leclerc didn’t win any of the last five races, but his victories in Monaco and at Monza were particularly poignant.
He defeated both McLarens with a stunning one-stop strategy at Ferrari’s home race with Nico Rosberg hailing team principal Frederic Vasseur for aiding Leclerc that day.
In 2025, he’ll want to go a couple of places better in the Drivers’ Championship and finish ahead of Verstappen and Norris.
However, the arrival of Lewis Hamilton is likely to complicate matters as for the second time in his career, he comes up against a multiple world champion as his teammate.
Leclerc expertly saw off Sebastian Vettel in the past, but Hamilton will be desperate to win a record eighth title in Ferrari colours.
Peter Windsor was speaking on his YouTube channel and believes the Monegasque driver has one key question he has to answer if he wants to achieve that accolade.
Charles Leclerc told he must manage his emotions to defeat Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari
Windsor was talking about the 27-year-old’s championship chances and said: “I think the interesting thing now will be how Charles Leclerc performs alongside Lewis.
“Obviously, Lewis was quicker in terms of the lap times on this test because he did a lot more miles.
“They rebuilt the car and Charles went out in it and didn’t do a lot in it and then Dino Beganovic the new favoured academy driver who’s really quick, got a lot of time for Dino did a run as well.
“So, for me, it’s a question of how Charles Leclerc is going to react now because I can imagine, certainly not because there was a shunt at all, but it would have been kind of welcome to Ferrari, Lewis when he hit the wall.
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“But there’s no doubt that Lewis is already super quick and doing a great job in the car.
“So, for me, it’ll be a question of how Charles manages his emotions now.
“He’s got to be ready for Lewis potentially to have just through circumstances a very good start to the year and how Charles reacts to that.
“I still think over a 24-race championship, Charles is the guy most likely to win a championship for Ferrari if it’s a championship-winning car.”
Why Charles Leclerc was furious with Ferrari at last season’s Las Vegas Grand Prix
Windsor referred to Leclerc needing to keep his emotions in check, something he’s not always managed in the past.
One race from last season that stands out is the Las Vegas Grand Prix when Ferrari’s drivers started second and fourth, but Leclerc missed out on a podium after a phenomenal drive from Hamilton.
Eddie Jordan was left shocked by Leclerc in Las Vegas, as his outburst at the team and Sainz seemed quite out of character.
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Ferrari’s strategy that day was poor, calling Sainz into the pits before keeping him out at the last second.
They then let Leclerc be undercut by his teammate after he initially passed him during the first round of stops and the whole race was managed very poorly.
Ferrari explained to Leclerc in the post-race briefing the mistakes he made that led to their strategy decisions, but if he’s going to defeat Hamilton and the rest of his rivals in the paddock, then he’ll need to stay calmer under pressure.
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