Lewis Hamilton will quickly start his 2025 season preparations with Ferrari, becoming a member of his new teammate, Charles Leclerc, in Maranello. Each drivers are anticipated to start out their work within the coming weeks, with all eyes naturally on the seven-time world champion as he begins this new chapter with the legendary staff. Whereas Hamilton would be the focus of consideration, it’s possible that Leclerc can even log comparable check mileage to make sure that he isn’t left at a drawback within the early phases of their partnership.
Charles Leclerc, who has been with Ferrari for six full seasons, might begin the 2025 marketing campaign with a definite benefit. As Karun Chandhok identified, Leclerc was the second-best driver in 2024, behind Max Verstappen, whereas Hamilton completed in seventh. Charles Leclerc’s efficiency in 2024 was spectacular—he completed third within the championship standings and secured 13 podium finishes, together with three victories. In stark distinction, Hamilton endured his worst season thus far, failing to safe a top-six end for the primary time in his illustrious profession.
Charles Leclerc’s deeper expertise with Ferrari, together with his time with their driver academy since 2016, means he’s already extremely accustomed to their staff processes and dealing strategies. Furthermore, the Monegasque driver is fluent in Italian, a talent that would improve his integration into Ferrari’s setting.
The Monegasque driver’s rise in Formulation 1 has been fast, having began with Sauber in 2018 after profitable the F2 championship. His spectacular performances rapidly earned him a transfer to Ferrari, the place he changed Kimi Raikkonen in 2019. Raikkonen, whom Hamilton has usually described as one among his “favourite drivers,” was a significant affect on him throughout his early days in F1. In truth, the British driver and Raikkonen shared a quick spell as McLaren teammates, throughout which the Finnish driver impressed Hamilton along with his cool and calm demeanor on and off the observe.
In 2018, Lewis Hamilton advised Blick that he was puzzled by Ferrari’s resolution to half methods with Raikkonen, describing him as an “extraordinary” driver. At the moment, Hamilton had already turn out to be a fan of Kimi Raikkonen’s unorthodox strategy, particularly throughout their time at McLaren when Kimi Raikkonen narrowly beat him to the 2007 World Championship. The 2 would go on to have an intense rivalry, with Kimi Raikkonen famously staging an unimaginable comeback to assert the 2007 title by only one level, just for Hamilton to safe his personal championship in 2008.
Lewis Hamilton’s respect for Raikkonen prolonged to his farewell from Ferrari, the place he urged that the Scuderia might have made a mistake in letting the Finnish veteran go. Kimi Raikkonen would go on to hitch Sauber, the place he raced for 3 extra seasons earlier than his eventual retirement from Formulation 1. Hamilton’s admiration for the Finnish driver is obvious, and it’s a sentiment that provides an fascinating dynamic to his relationship with Ferrari as he steps into the staff Kimi Raikkonen as soon as referred to as dwelling.
Lewis Hamilton expressed that he didn’t imagine Raikkonen would change in his remaining races, praising him as a rare skilled and a improbable driver. He added that Raikkonen remained one among his favourite drivers and acknowledged that, in his opinion, Ferrari was shedding a vital driver, a call that didn’t make sense to him.
Hamilton’s preliminary evaluation of Leclerc’s potential appeared to have been incorrect, because the Ferrari newcomer exceeded expectations. In his debut season with Ferrari in 2019, Leclerc secured two Grand Prix victories and instantly outperformed the skilled four-time world champion, Sebastian Vettel, in factors.
In the meantime, Kimi Raikkonen’s time at Ferrari was marked by a big distinction in efficiency in comparison with his teammate, Vettel. Regardless of Vettel profitable 14 races throughout their partnership, Raikkonen claimed solely a single victory, on the 2018 US Grand Prix, which highlighted the disparity between the 2.
Regardless of this, when requested about his finest teammate, Raikkonen surprisingly missed Vettel. As a substitute, he named David Coulthard, his first associate at McLaren, as the most effective teammate he had ever had. Raikkonen additionally shared a aggressive partnership with Fernando Alonso in his second stint in Formulation 1. His return to Ferrari was influenced by Alonso’s rising frustration with the staff, because it was believed that the Spanish driver wanted a contemporary problem, which in the end led to Raikkonen’s return.
Regardless of his spectacular type at Lotus, Raikkonen’s second spell with Ferrari in the end didn’t meet expectations, as he was unable to safe a championship, leaving the staff to seek for a brand new route.
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