Charles Leclerc has batted off concerns that the signing of Lewis Hamilton is an indication that Ferrari do not believe he is the man to guide them back to World Championship contention.
The Monegasque driver was selected as the future hope of Ferrari after stamping his authority on the intra-team battle with Sebastian Vettel in 2019 and 2020 but despite a raft of pole positions and six memorable Grand Prix victories, he has been unable to fight for a World Championship.
Even if Ferrari can provide Leclerc with a title-worthy machine in 2025, his task will remain a challenging one. This is due to the impending arrival of Hamilton, who agreed to swap Brackley for Maranello before a wheel had been turned in 2024.
Despite the arrival of another marquee signing, Leclerc does not feel like they have lost faith in him. “Not at all,” he told BBC Sport. “Because Ferrari is Ferrari. And they need the best drivers in their cars. So, for the benefit of Ferrari, it is completely understandable. For me, I don’t see any negative in that, because it’s Lewis Hamilton.”
While the team-mate battle between Leclerc and Hamilton promises to be a blockbuster, the former is more interested in learning from the seven-time world champion’s technical nous than getting caught up in the possibility of winning the head-to-head fight.
“Well, I need to be convinced that I am the fastest driver when I put the helmet on, but I am really looking forward to it, and it will be super interesting for me,” Leclerc continued. “I have always said you learn from every single team-mate you have over your career.
“When I look at the way he drives – because we always look at each other and data – you don’t really see any weaknesses. And that’s where Lewis is incredible. He’s only got strengths. So I’m really looking forward to seeing how he works with his engineers, the feedback, and all of these kinds of things, to learn and become better.”
While Hamilton’s arrival is an exciting landmark on the horizon, Leclerc still believes that Ferrari can achieve great things before then. “I still believe the highest targets are possible, which means the championship,” he boldly professed.
The Scuderia are seven points clear of McLaren in second place heading into the penultimate Grand Prix before the summer break, and 71 behind Red Bull. However, at the last couple of races, Ferrari have been the fourth fastest car, so they will need to make significant gains to keep their Constructors’ Championship dream alive.
