Charles Leclerc Welcomes Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari: ‘A Motivating Problem Forward’

Charles Leclerc says it’s “all the time excellent news” to associate a driver of Lewis Hamilton’s calibre at Ferrari from the 2025 F1 season.

Ferrari has signed Lewis Hamilton forward of the beginning of the 2024 season, with group principal Frédéric Vasseur taking full benefit of the discharge clause within the Mercedes driver’s long-standing contract to deliver him to Maranello the place he had invited him.

Lewis Hamilton will turn out to be Leclerc’s fourth teammate in F1, changing Carlos Sainz Jr. His earlier teammates embrace Marcus Ericsson (Sauber) and Sebastian Vettel.

Charles Leclerc stated in an interview with Autosport journal that he’s enthusiastic about this new problem and sees it as a possibility to be taught from F1’s most profitable driver.

“It’s all the time excellent news when you will have a seven-time world champion becoming a member of your group,” Leclerc stated after praising his present teammate Sainz as “a very distinctive driver.”

“Initially as a result of it is rather attention-grabbing for me and really motivating. It is vitally attention-grabbing as a result of I can be taught from one of many biggest F1 drivers of all time.”

“And secondly, I am actually motivated to point out what I am able to in opposition to Lewis in the identical automobile, so I am actually motivated. For these two causes, I am actually trying ahead to it.”

Charles Leclerc had signed a contract extension per week earlier than Lewis Hamilton introduced the stunning information of his official transfer to Ferrari, however the information didn’t come as a shock to him and he introduced his. He knew he was entrusting his future to the Scuderia.

“We knew it was doable and possible as a result of each side needed it to occur,” Leclerc stated. “However I used to be glad about it and I undoubtedly knew it might occur.”

“That was sufficient for me. I did not ask for extra particulars as a result of I haven’t got the precise to know all these items and I do not need to know all of them. However everybody all the time informed me that he was very sincere with me.”

“If something, it reassured me much more, as a result of clearly having a driver like Lewis Hamilton within the group is a robust sign. From our facet it is a constructive factor. We might add very gifted folks to the group, so I choose to see it as a constructive factor.

It should be argued that Charles Leclerc has every little thing to realize from this example in terms of his repute. Whereas dropping to the seven-time world champion could also be comprehensible, it might clearly be historic to turn out to be the primary driver to obviously outperform Hamilton.

Leclerc, nevertheless, doesn’t totally agree with this explicit imaginative and prescient of the scenario.

“As a driver, it hurts simply as a lot to be 0.2 seconds behind Lewis because it does to be 0.2 seconds behind one other driver,” Leclerc defined. “For me, it is painful to endure each time I am behind my teammates. I simply need to be the perfect, regardless of the scenario.”

“For instance, after I was with Seb, it was my first yr at Ferrari and I actually did not need to lose to him, despite the fact that I knew he had a whole lot of expertise. Regardless of the scenario, I do not need to lose.”

Class: Components 1 / Lewis Hamilton / Ferrari Staff / Charles Leclerc