Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc have begun working together at Ferrari for the first time this week.
The former visited the factory in Maranello on Monday ahead of his first test with Ferrari at their Fiorano Circuit on Wednesday.
Hamilton ran 30 laps in Ferrari’s 2023 car with more than a thousand fans turning up to the circuit to watch the historical day. Hamilton’s best time was around the one-minute mark, but he was unable to push harder even on dry tyres due to the weather conditions.
His Ferrari teammate also ran in the session but the TPC rules (Testing of Previous Cars) meant they had to share the SF-23 as they could not run simultaneously. Leclerc was six seconds slower than Hamilton, but that was because the Monagasque driver only ran in the rain.
Leclerc sent a ‘very special’ message to Hamilton after he shared the track with him in red for the first time. Ferrari are set to run another test in Barcelona before pre-season testing in Bahrain in February.
Hamilton and Leclerc will be looking to take the Maranello outfit one step further in 2025 after the team lost to McLaren for the constructors’ title in 2024 by just 14 points.
Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc will achieve crazy Ferrari 44-16 feat if they share a podium in 2025
Hamilton recorded the lowest finish of his career last season with seventh in the standings. The Brit will be hoping his Ferrari switch will light a fire back in the 40-year-old to compete.
F1 fans have already noticed Hamilton looks joyous at Ferrari during his factory visit and meeting the Tifosi after his test at Fiorano. It appears the Brit is raring to go at the Maranello outfit.
Leclerc finished third in the Drivers’ Championship in 2024 as he missed out on the runner-up spot to Lando Norris. The Monagasque driver claimed three wins and 13 podiums – and he will be looking to add to that tally in 2025.
| Position | Drivers’ Championship | Points |
| 1 |
Max Verstappen |
437 |
| 2 |
Lando Norris |
374 |
| 3 |
Charles Leclerc |
356 |
| 4 |
Oscar Piastri |
292 |
| 5 |
Carlos Sainz Jr |
290 |
| 6 |
George Russell |
245 |
| 7 |
Lewis Hamilton |
223 |
| 8 |
Sergio Perez |
152 |
| 9 |
Fernando Alonso |
70 |
| 10 |
Pierre Gasly |
42 |
Collectively, the 2025 Ferrari duo scored 18 podiums last year, with the pair sharing it only once at the Belgian GP. If Hamilton and Leclerc finish in the top three together this season, they will achieve a crazy stat.
Leclerc’s next podium with be his 44th in F1. If Hamilton joins him in the top three, it will be the 16th time that has happened – replicating their respective 44 and 16 race numbers.
Whether it is sheer coincidence or fate is anyone’s guess, but that stat makes a double Ferrari podium all the more special in 2025.
Who will win the Ferrari teammate battle in 2025?
The battle between Hamilton and Leclerc will be one of the closest teammate fights in the 2025 season. Many people have made their guesses as to who will come out on top.
Leclerc will initially start on the front foot given he knows the Ferrari setup and Italian having been with them since his academy days in 2016.
The Maranello outfit are looking to get Hamilton integrated into the team as quickly as possible with little distraction. The seven-time champion seems eager to do this with the reception he has had already from the fans.
He will need to get up to speed fast if he is to compete with Leclerc. The Monagasque driver is one of the strongest drivers over one lap while Hamilton desperately struggled on Saturday to extract performance at Mercedes.
Hamilton can take inspiration from Niki Lauda and how he battled Alain Prost in 1984 into taking on Leclerc this year. If the Brit can find his feet at Ferrari, he could become an unstoppable force.
