Lewis Hamilton’s transfer to Ferrari marks a pivotal second for the Italian workforce as they pursue their first Method 1 championship in almost 20 years. His arrival injects a wealth of expertise, uncooked pace, and a champion’s mentality—qualities that would present the Italian aspect with the aggressive edge they’ve been lacking.
Final season, Ferrari fell simply 14 factors wanting the constructors’ title, highlighting how shut they had been to breaking Purple Bull’s dominance. Now, with Hamilton within the storage, the Scuderia has a chance to capitalize on his race-winning experience. His presence not solely strengthens Ferrari’s championship aspirations but in addition serves as a vital take a look at for Charles Leclerc, who now has the possibility to measure himself towards one of many sport’s all-time greats.
The Monegasque and the Briton can be trying to maximize the potential of Ferrari’s considerably upgraded 2025 Method 1 challenger. The Maranello workforce has carried out sweeping adjustments to enhance general efficiency, with a specific concentrate on including pace. Nonetheless, early testing confirmed indicators of concern for Charles Leclerc, who struggled with tyre degradation. This may increasingly have been track-specific to Bahrain, however it’s an space Ferrari might want to deal with heading into the season.
Ferrari workforce principal Frederic Vasseur has highlighted an sudden good thing about Lewis Hamilton’s arrival—much less stress on Leclerc. With the seven-time Method 1 world champion taking over a part of the management burden, Charles Leclerc can focus extra on refining his racecraft and delivering constant performances.
The 2025 Method 1 marketing campaign kicks off with the Australian Grand Prix on the Albert Park circuit, making its return because the opener for the primary time since 2019. Ferrari claimed victory in Melbourne final yr after Max Verstappen’s uncommon mechanical failure, they usually’ll be aiming for one more sturdy begin. With Hamilton now within the combine and Leclerc exhibiting renewed confidence, Ferrari has an actual shot at making a press release in spherical one.
From the very starting, he was sure that Charles Leclerc would achieve vital advantages from Lewis Hamilton’s arrival. The Frenchman prompt that it would relieve a number of the stress on Leclerc, permitting him to pay attention extra on himself, which he noticed as a optimistic growth.
He additionally identified that Leclerc may be taught a terrific deal from Lewis Hamilton, describing him as a terrific skilled from whom there’s at all times one thing to remove. After a number of years alongside Carlos Sainz, he believed that having a brand new teammate was the perfect alternative for Charles Leclerc to proceed his progress.
Ralf Schumacher Highlights Lewis Hamilton’s Early Struggles In opposition to Charles Leclerc in Testing
Charles Leclerc holds a big benefit over Lewis Hamilton because the Brit begins his journey with Ferrari. Having spent six seasons with the Scuderia, the Monegasque has an intimate understanding of the workforce, its internal workings, and the automotive’s traits—an edge that Hamilton will want time to bridge.
Adapting to a brand new setting, studying a special language, and familiarizing himself with a wholly new technical workforce presents a steep studying curve for the seven-time champion. In accordance with Ralf Schumacher, this adjustment interval may show difficult, particularly as Hamilton seems to be combating a nervous rear-end in testing—a problem that would hinder his confidence behind the wheel.
Schumacher warned that if Hamilton doesn’t rapidly discover synergy with the SF-25, he dangers dealing with a repeat of his defeats to George Russell at Mercedes. Qualifying, particularly, has been a weak spot for Hamilton in latest seasons, and with Leclerc broadly considered one of many quickest drivers over a single lap, the intra-team battle at Ferrari in 2025 guarantees to be one of the intriguing storylines of the season.