Lewis Hamilton will quickly start his 2025 season preparations with Ferrari, becoming a member of his new teammate, Charles Leclerc, in Maranello. Each drivers are anticipated to begin their work within the coming weeks, with all eyes naturally on the seven-time world champion as he begins this new chapter with the legendary workforce. Whereas Hamilton would be the point of interest of consideration, it’s probably that Leclerc can even log comparable check mileage to make sure that he isn’t left at a drawback within the early levels of their partnership.
Charles Leclerc, who has been with Ferrari for six full seasons, could begin the 2025 marketing campaign with a definite benefit. As Karun Chandhok identified, Leclerc was the second-best driver in 2024, behind Max Verstappen, whereas Hamilton completed in seventh. Charles Leclerc’s efficiency in 2024 was spectacular—he completed third within the championship standings and secured 13 podium finishes, together with three victories. In stark distinction, Hamilton endured his worst season so far, failing to safe a top-six end for the primary time in his illustrious profession.
Charles Leclerc’s deeper expertise with Ferrari, together with his time with their driver academy since 2016, means he’s already extremely conversant in their workforce processes and dealing strategies. Furthermore, the Monegasque driver is fluent in Italian, a ability that would improve his integration into Ferrari’s atmosphere.
The Monegasque driver’s rise in System 1 has been fast, having began with Sauber in 2018 after profitable the F2 championship. His spectacular performances shortly earned him a transfer to Ferrari, the place he changed Kimi Raikkonen in 2019. Raikkonen, whom Hamilton has usually described as considered one of his “favourite drivers,” was a significant affect on him throughout his early days in F1. In reality, the British driver and Raikkonen shared a short spell as McLaren teammates, throughout which the Finnish driver impressed Hamilton together with his cool and calm demeanor on and off the observe.
In 2018, Lewis Hamilton instructed Blick that he was puzzled by Ferrari’s choice to half methods with Raikkonen, describing him as an “extraordinary” driver. At the moment, Hamilton had already change into a fan of Kimi Raikkonen’s unorthodox method, particularly throughout their time at McLaren when Kimi Raikkonen narrowly beat him to the 2007 World Championship. The 2 would go on to have an intense rivalry, with Kimi Raikkonen famously staging an unimaginable comeback to assert the 2007 title by only one level, just for Hamilton to safe his personal championship in 2008.
Lewis Hamilton’s respect for Raikkonen prolonged to his farewell from Ferrari, the place he advised that the Scuderia could have made a mistake in letting the Finnish veteran go. Kimi Raikkonen would go on to hitch Sauber, the place he raced for 3 extra seasons earlier than his eventual retirement from System 1. Hamilton’s admiration for the Finnish driver is evident, and it’s a sentiment that provides an attention-grabbing dynamic to his relationship with Ferrari as he steps into the workforce Kimi Raikkonen as soon as referred to as residence.
Lewis Hamilton expressed that he didn’t imagine Raikkonen would change in his closing races, praising him as a rare skilled and a improbable driver. He added that Raikkonen remained considered one of his favourite drivers and acknowledged that, in his opinion, Ferrari was shedding a vital driver, a call that didn’t make sense to him.
Hamilton’s preliminary evaluation of Leclerc’s potential appeared to have been incorrect, because the Ferrari newcomer exceeded expectations. In his debut season with Ferrari in 2019, Leclerc secured two Grand Prix victories and instantly outperformed the skilled four-time world champion, Sebastian Vettel, in factors.
In the meantime, Kimi Raikkonen’s time at Ferrari was marked by a major distinction in efficiency in comparison with his teammate, Vettel. Regardless of Vettel profitable 14 races throughout their partnership, Raikkonen claimed solely a single victory, on the 2018 US Grand Prix, which highlighted the disparity between the 2.
Regardless of this, when requested about his finest teammate, Raikkonen surprisingly missed Vettel. As a substitute, he named David Coulthard, his first accomplice at McLaren, as the very best teammate he had ever had. Raikkonen additionally shared a aggressive partnership with Fernando Alonso in his second stint in System 1. His return to Ferrari was influenced by Alonso’s rising frustration with the workforce, because it was believed that the Spanish driver wanted a recent problem, which in the end led to Raikkonen’s return.
Regardless of his spectacular type at Lotus, Raikkonen’s second spell with Ferrari in the end didn’t meet expectations, as he was unable to safe a championship, leaving the workforce to seek for a brand new course.
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