Lewis Hamilton is about to embark on a historic chapter with Ferrari, aiming to make his tenure with the Scuderia a triumphant one. Nevertheless, standing in his approach is the formidable problem of competing towards Charles Leclerc, who has lengthy been entrenched throughout the Maranello squad.
The seven-time world champion will step into unfamiliar territory in 2025, taking up a brand-new problem on the age of 40. Whereas Hamilton has exuded pleasure and enthusiasm about his extremely anticipated transfer—one which has been practically a yr within the making—he faces the demanding activity of adapting to a brand new crew setting. In distinction, Leclerc has been a cornerstone of Ferrari since his days within the academy again in 2016. The Monegasque driver, who has been racing for Ferrari since 2019, has already confirmed himself towards a multiple-time world champion, having bested Sebastian Vettel throughout their time as teammates.
With pre-season testing effectively underway, Hamilton is working to shut the hole in expertise that Leclerc holds throughout the Ferrari setup. After enduring his lowest championship end final season, he’s decided to return to the entrance of the grid in 2025.
Throughout Ferrari’s current tyre take a look at for Pirelli in Barcelona—centered on the brand new 2026 rubber—Hamilton outpaced Leclerc within the opening session on Tuesday morning. Nevertheless, Charles Leclerc was the faster of the 2 within the afternoon session, although at this stage, lap instances stay largely inconsequential.
Regardless of these early take a look at outings, the burden of expectation already looms giant over each drivers. Ferrari has been with out a drivers’ championship since Kimi Räikkönen’s 2007 triumph, and the stress to ship is immense. Nevertheless, there could also be one key issue that enables Hamilton to deal with that stress with higher ease than his youthful teammate.
Lewis Hamilton’s legendary standing may protect him from criticism at Ferrari
Arriving at Ferrari as probably the most statistically profitable driver in Components 1 historical past, Hamilton carries an unparalleled legacy. Holding the data for probably the most wins, pole positions, podiums, and equaling Michael Schumacher’s seven world titles, the Briton’s achievements are unmatched. In the meantime Charles Leclerc, regardless of being some of the gifted drivers on the grid—has but to safe a championship, although he has come shut, ending runner-up to Max Verstappen in 2022 and taking third within the standings behind the Dutchman and Lando Norris in 2024.
Italian motorsport skilled Riccardo Ceccarelli means that Hamilton’s extraordinary profession could grant him a stage of immunity from criticism inside Ferrari. In response to Riccardo Ceccarelli, Hamilton has already “written the historical past of motoring,” which may afford him higher leniency, whereas Charles Leclerc—nonetheless chasing his first title—could discover himself underneath higher scrutiny ought to he fail to ship.
Talking through the Motorsport.com Italia YouTube channel, the F1 skilled famous that Lewis Hamilton’s arrival at Ferrari differed on account of two key components that labored within the Briton’s favor. He identified that, with seven world championships to his title—greater than the mixed whole of Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso—it could be troublesome to query Hamilton’s profession achievements.
He instructed that this stage of success supplied Lewis Hamilton with a sure immunity from criticism, as his report successfully spoke for itself. The concept, he defined, was that critics would wrestle to problem somebody who had achieved a lot, as few may declare to have matched his seven titles.
This, he believed, gave the British driver a way of authority and power, having already cemented his place in motorsport historical past. In distinction, he noticed that the Monegasque, regardless of having secured race victories, had but to win a world championship. In consequence, the Monegasque driver remained topic to public scrutiny, significantly from those that had lengthy considered him as a future champion however may now query whether or not Ferrari had positioned its religion in a driver who had not but delivered a title.
Ferrari Taking a ‘Calculated Danger’ With Hamilton’s 2025 Automobile to Chase Title Glory
The 2025 Components 1 season represents the ultimate marketing campaign underneath the present rules earlier than the sweeping adjustments set for 2026. For Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton, this could possibly be their greatest shot at clinching a long-awaited championship earlier than the game undergoes its subsequent main transformation.
Within the earlier season, Ferrari got here agonizingly near securing second place within the constructors’ standings, lacking out to McLaren by simply 14 factors after an intense battle that stretched to the ultimate race in Abu Dhabi. Regardless of falling brief, the Italian crew displayed spectacular efficiency features in the direction of the top of 2024 and can be keen to hold that momentum into the upcoming season. Nevertheless, sustaining competitiveness alone won’t be sufficient—Ferrari are decided to seek out an edge over their rivals.
To attain that, the crew is about to introduce important improvements to their 2025 challenger, with some of the notable adjustments being a daring overhaul of the automotive’s suspension. Described as a ‘calculated danger,’ this adjustment is geared toward extracting each attainable benefit in efficiency. Whereas such a transfer carries inherent uncertainty, early indications counsel it may already be yielding constructive outcomes.
In response to Martin Brundle, there may be rising perception that Ferrari have made higher strides over the winter than McLaren. Ought to these developments translate into tangible tempo on the monitor, Hamilton could discover himself in a primary place to safe the elusive eighth world title that has narrowly evaded him in recent times.
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