Charles Leclerc would underestimate Lewis Hamilton's racecraft 'at his peril', claims F1 insider
Before the 2025 season starts, F1 pundit Ted Kravitz has said that Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc will likely not underestimate his new teammate Lewis Hamilton and do so "at his peril". The British driver announced his move to the Italian team last year in February on a multi-year contract with the Maranello-based outfit.
Leclerc, who too signed a contract extension with the most iconic F1 team on the grid until the end of the 2028 season, has raced for it since 2019. The Monegasque driver has been the poster boy of Ferrari over the last couple of years and won eight races in his tenure.
Speaking with Sky Sports, Kravitz spoke about Leclerc having an advantage over his new teammate Hamilton in terms of knowing the team inside out but believed that the 27-year-old will be wary of the newcomer's abilities on a race day in an F1 car:
"Charles Leclerc has seen Lewis Hamilton close up over the last couple of months, he's understood how he likes to drive the car, he's understood seemingly how Hamilton, who was saying that he still has to learn exactly how every little tool that he has at his disposal in terms of differential change or brake balance adjustment, all those things - it's second nature to Leclerc.
Hamilton is still learning how Ferrari like to do those things in the car. If you could say that's a bit of an advantage on Leclerc's side, maybe. But also Leclerc would underestimate Hamilton's racecraft at his peril. He knows not to underestimate Lewis. Lewis is at his best on a Sunday afternoon." [02:10]
Both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc shared the SF-25 over the three days of the official pre-season testing last week from February 26 to 28.
Charles Leclerc reflects on Lewis Hamilton having a similar driving style
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc has said he was "surprised" to see that his new teammate Lewis Hamilton had a similar driving style to him.
As per F1.com, the 27-year-old reflected on the advantage of having a similar driving style for the team and said:
“I was surprised – our driving style is very similar. We both like to push quite a lot, especially the entries, and on that, we are quite similar. That’s positive because I think it requires the same thing out of the car, and I think as a team that is always a good thing because we’ll definitely push in the same direction."
Leclerc has led Ferrari to P2 in the Constructor's Championship two of the last three years, finishing behind Red Bull and McLaren. Leclerc too finished P2 in the driver's standings in the 2022 season while getting a P3 last year behind Max Verstappen and Lando Norris.