Charles Leclerc faces the toughest challenge of his Formula 1 career to date as Lewis Hamilton joins him at Ferrari this season.
The Scuderia missed out on ending a 16-year title drought by just 14 points in the race for the Constructors’ Championship with McLaren in 2024.
A wrong turn in Ferrari’s car development saw both Leclerc and ex-teammate Carlos Sainz struggle after the Spanish Grand Prix before making improvements in the summer.
The 27-year-old will need to get used to a new car ahead of the Australian Grand Prix after his team decided to go all in on 2025 and design a new machine.
It could pose a challenge for them if they are unable to get to grips with the demands of the new chassis early in the season.
It was evident how much McLaren struggled to catch Red Bull after letting them build up too much of a gap last year, and Ferrari will want to avoid a repeat of that scenario.
Charles Leclerc needs to be ‘careful’ around Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari situation
Leclerc will never be a world champion unless he takes a step on Sundays against Hamilton during their first season together according to Mike Hezemans.
He has an incredible opportunity to learn from the seven-time champion and pick his brains with regard to car development and setup.
Hamilton has already beaten Leclerc’s Italian GP record by overtaking his Instagram post as the most-liked Formula 1-related tweet ever.
READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton just pulled off something ‘cunning’ in his first week with Ferrari
Antonio Ghini believes that Hamilton has already been masterful in his Ferrari approach and that some people, maybe including Leclerc, may have to be careful with the way he may be able to get some decisions to go his way.
“Be careful, because he will be able to seduce not only the whole company what he did magnificently, but the president himself is a cold president we know,” he said.
“It is always cold, meditative, [a] little expansive instead also from how I saw him from the images. He [John Elkann] was really happy with this situation. So let’s say that the Hamilton of Monday was masterful then.”
Who is most likely to win a Ferrari battle between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc?
Leclerc believes there is an emotional downside to driving for Ferrari which can distract a driver from the true task at hand.
The Italian fanbase is one of, if not the most passionate in Formula 1 and after years of disappointment are expecting to taste victory soon.
Over 1,000 Ferrari fans attended Hamilton’s first Ferrari laps at Fiorano with anticipation and excitement for his arrival.
READ MORE: Guenther Steiner shares why Lewis Hamilton needs the ‘pressure’ at Ferrari ahead of 2025 title fight
There will be a lot of pressure on both drivers to deliver if they are handed a car which is capable of competing for the title.
Team boss Fred Vasseur will have to manage relations between the two but does have the advantage of having known Hamilton for two decades and Leclerc since he arrived in F1 back in 2018.
Some would say Leclerc has the advantage of being embedded within the team, but he hasn’t fought for a title yet and Hamilto’s experience could be the deciding factor in their fight.
