Charles Leclerc’s intense verdict on showing “mercy” to Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari

Charles Leclerc has offered an insight to his mentality when Lewis Hamilton arrives as his teammate next year.

Leclerc and Hamilton will form a blockbuster duo at Ferrari from 2025 onwards, a combination of drivers from different eras who each want the F1 title for themselves.

It will test Leclerc’s mettle and force Hamilton to demonstrate how much he’s got left in the tank.

“It’s going to be incredible to have Lewis on the team,” Lecerc told The Gentleman’s Journal.

“And, obviously, to be able to have such an incredible champion in the same team as me, with the same car.

“First, it’s going to be a great opportunity to learn from one of the best ever.

“And second, I think it is going to be an amazing opportunity, also, for me to be able to show what I’m capable of, so I’m really looking forward to it.

“By being on karting tracks every weekend growing up, it was difficult for me to actually follow a Formula 1 season, so I used to watch some races and he was definitely one of the guys that I looked up to.

“In the first year [in F1], I remember being super-impressed and intimidated by all these amazing drivers, and Lewis is probably the best out there, so being able to race with him was crazy.”

Leclerc was asked if he will ‘show mercy to the newbie’ when Hamilton arrives at Ferrari next year.

“No, of course not,” he responded.

“No, no, no – when I’m putting the helmet on, then there’s none of this any more.

“You change, you don’t think about who is who and you just go for it.

“Now I’m racing Lewis, so I’ve got to forget a little bit the names that are inside the paddock, and just focus on my own performance whenever I’m on track.”

Hamilton, in recent weeks, has rolled back the years to win two of the past three grands prix.

Leclerc, in turn, finally won his home grand prix in Monaco to achieve a major career milestone this season.

The improvement of the Mercedes recently adds an intriguing subplot to Hamilton’s move, because his current team are outperforming Ferrari at the moment.

But Hamilton invoked an exit clause in the Mercedes deal that he signed a year ago to tee up a massive move to Ferrari in 2025.

The switch unites the most successful driver in Formula 1 history with the most successful team.

Hamilton will race into his 40s with the iconic manufacturer from Italy.