The relationship between new Ferrari teammates Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc is going to be one of the most intriguing subplots of the 2025 Formula 1 season.
The last time Lewis Hamilton had a new teammate on the grid was when George Russell replaced Valtteri Bottas at Mercedes at the beginning of the 2021 campaign.
Russell managed to finish ahead of Hamilton in the Drivers’ Championship last year after several seasons of learning from the seven-time world champion and steps into his role as team leader alongside rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli in 2025.
For Charles Leclerc, the reality of Carlos Sainz being replaced by Hamilton at Ferrari will have properly sunk in now that they’ve been working together at Maranello, Fiorano and in Barcelona over the past few weeks.
Hamilton’s recent crash during Ferrari testing has already impacted Leclerc’s early preparations for the 2025 season.
The repairs needed to the car they shared meant the Monegasque driver had to sit on the sidelines, while Leclerc’s testing at Fiorano after Hamilton’s debut was cut short by bad weather.
Both drivers will have the same goal heading into 2025 and that’s to end Ferrari’s long wait for a championship.
Kimi Raikkonen was the Scuderia’s last champion back in 2007 when he denied Hamilton the title in his maiden campaign by a single point.
If Ferrari are going to defeat McLaren, Red Bull and Hamilton’s old employers Mercedes, then team principal Frederic Vasseur will need both of his drivers to be on the same page in pre-season testing and at the opening race in Australia.
Lewis Hamilton sharing Ferrari ideas with Charles Leclerc last season
According to a report from Gazzetta dello Sport, work has been ongoing between Leclerc and Hamilton long before he first stepped foot in Ferrari’s Maranello factory.
Leclerc has admitted that his relationship with Hamilton is different to Sainz, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
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Gazzetta was reporting that Hamilton has been ‘trying to get along’ with Leclerc since the beginning of last season when he knew the two would have a common goal in 2025 and beyond.
They believe that ‘every meeting’ between the pair was used by Hamilton to learn more about his new teammate and ‘share his ideas’ about where Ferrari should be heading.
It’s interesting that even though Hamilton was concentrating on having the strongest final season with Mercedes possible, he was keeping one eye on his new employers.
Martin Brundle believes Hamilton would have loved what he saw from Ferrari during one race last year and the way Leclerc in particular finished 2024 will give him plenty of encouragement that this season could be the year he wins a historic eighth title.
Charles Leclerc must take inspiration from George Russell in Lewis Hamilton fight
For Leclerc, he has to use all the experience he’s gathered over the past few years to gain the upper hand over his new teammate.
He’s likely to start the season quicker than Hamilton as the 40-year-old continues to learn more about his new team.
READ MORE: Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton’s life outside F1 from net worth to family
Leclerc’s superior qualifying pace should also give him an advantage over Hamilton and if he can convert that into strong race results, then he might force Vasseur’s hand when determining his number-one driver for 2025.
If he’s in the strongest position to challenge the likes of Verstappen, Lando Norris or Russell, then Hamilton may have to be patient and wait until 2026 to mount his next title challenge.
