Charles Leclerc wary of “huge challenge” posed by Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari
“But it’s definitely a huge challenge and probably one of the biggest of my career.”
Charles Leclerc has described going up against Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari as a “huge challenge” and “one of the biggest” of his F1 career so far.
Leclerc has seen off some high-quality teammates throughout his Ferrari stint.
He made his Ferrari debut alongside Sebastian Vettel, out-scoring the four-time world champion in their two seasons as teammates.
Carlos Sainz managed to out-score Leclerc in 2021, but Leclerc was comfortably the better driver across their four seasons, although the Spaniard showed great consistency and flashes of brilliance.
Hamilton will be Leclerc’s biggest challenge, even if the seven-time world champion struggled in his final year at Mercedes.
The 40-year-old was dismantled by George Russell in qualifying, losing the head-to-head on a Saturday 19-5.
However, if the SF-25 is better suited to Hamilton’s driving style and a change of scenery means he’s rejuvenated, it's likely Leclerc will have a tougher time than Russell did last year.
Speaking to media, including Crash.net, Leclerc acknowledged Hamilton's challenge but said he has “full trust” in his own ability.
“I mean, obviously, as a driver, I’ve got full trust in my ability,” Leclerc explained. “But also having said that, it’s very difficult for now because I haven’t had any comparison with Lewis in the same car at the same time.
“So I guess time will tell. But it’s definitely a huge challenge and probably one of the biggest of my career.
“He’s, again, the most successful driver in Formula 1 and to have him as my teammate is a really, really big motivation for me to learn from him but also, as you said, to show what I’m capable of and that motivates me a lot and I’m really looking forward to it.”
Ferrari hit the track with their 2025 F1 car
Ferrari took to the track for the first time with their 2025 F1 car on Wednesday.
Leclerc gave the SF-25 its debut before handing it over to Hamilton at Fiorano.
It’s the fourth time the duo have been on track since the turn of the year following an extensive off-season programme.
Attention will now turn to pre-season testing in Bahrain on February 26-28.
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