Concern for Lewis Hamilton that he’ll be beaten in a key area by Charles Leclerc

Lewis Hamilton’s hopes to arrest his qualifying slump this year have not made our experts optimistic for him.

Hamilton has been out-qualified by George Russell in each of his past two seasons with Mercedes.

Now at Ferrari, his new teammate is Charles Leclerc who is famously quick on a Saturday.

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“It’s hard to look past Leclerc,” Connor McDonagh told the Crash F1 podcast.

“I think he’s a better all-round driver than George Russell.

“Hamilton will take a step forward in a fresh environment with a more stable car, but Leclerc is, in my opinion, the second-best driver on the grid after Max Verstappen.

“Even if a peak Hamilton joined Ferrari, he would have a tough time against Leclerc.

“It depends if Hamilton can take a step forward in qualifying. Leclerc is widely regarded as the fastest driver over one lap, especially when he puts it all together.

“So if Hamilton is qualifying seventh or eighth, and Leclerc is third or second, he’s got no chance!

“If you look at the facts it’s hard to look past Leclerc. But we’re talking about Hamilton - don’t rule him out.”

Lewis Larkam added: “The biggest question mark is how Lewis performs in qualifying and whether he can get over the slump he’s suffered in the past two years against Russell, and whether Ferrari’s car might help.

“It’s going to be a huge challenge for Hamilton because Charles is regarded as the fastest over one lap.

“Given the struggles Lewis has last year against Russell, who is also incredibly quick over one lap, it will be his toughest test this year.

“At this stage, I expect Charles to out-qualify Hamilton - perhaps over the course of the season, but certainly early on as Hamilton is bedding in.

“The challenge for Hamilton, as the field as tight as it is, is to not have those gaps in terms of position that he did to Russell last season.

“If Charles is on pole position with Hamilton behind, I think Hamilton would finish ahead in the race. We have seen, to this day, Hamilton’s biggest strength is his performances on a Sunday even if he’s lost some qualifying speed.

“If they are close on the track, one or two positions apart, Hamilton can have the edge in races.”