Ever since Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari switch for 2025 became official, the expectation around his partnership with Charles Leclerc has risen tremendously. Ferrari harbouring the two superstar drivers together means well for their overall performance.
While there is also the possibility of an ultra-competitive rivalry, former Hitech GP technical director Christophe Perrin feels teaming up with Hamilton will only benefit Leclerc.
Speaking on the Track Limits podcast, Perrin said, “I really think it will help Charles [Leclerc] to raise his game. Because I think it’s quite easy for the driver, when, if your teammates are a bit weaker. You are pushing yourself less.”
Perrin also highlighted the qualifying prowess of both drivers. He stated that their battle on a one-lap pace will be an interesting thing to watch in 2025. As for Leclerc‘s race pace and race craft relative to Hamilton, Perrin mentioned that the Monegasque can take notes from Max Verstappen on pushing himself harder.
The former Hitech GP technical chief highlighted how Verstappen pushed himself harder to establish new benchmarks for his performance despite having relatively weaker teammates. Leclerc can also follow Verstappen’s approach to not ease on his pace when he teams up with Hamilton.
The Monegasque is a long way behind both Verstappen and Hamilton’s win tallies and other stats in the sport. However, Leclerc has the talent to bridge that gap and beat F1’s last two champions on merit.
While it remains to be seen whether Leclerc gets a shot at fighting Verstappen on equal terms, his battle with Hamilton is set to happen next season.
Despite being in the twilight of his career, Hamilton is still delivering top-class results, as was evident in his two race wins in Britain and Belgium before the summer break. The 39-year-old will join Ferrari with renewed vigor in 2025 with the sole aim of chasing down his eighth championship.
On the other hand, Leclerc has only six wins under his belt with his championship tally still at zero. So, the 26-year-old has to ensure he doesn’t feel intimidated by Hamilton due to the weight of the Briton’s past achievements. At the same time, Leclerc also needs to match Hamilton’s pace and consistency, while eliminating his own unforced errors.
In his 17-year-long career, Hamilton has been beaten by a teammate over a season only thrice. So, Leclerc will need to step up his game to emulate what George Russell, Jenson Button, and Nico Rosberg did.
