Ex-Red Bull Driver Believes Lewis Hamilton Will Face ”One of His Biggest Challenges” in Charles Leclerc

In the aftermath of Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari’s blockbuster announcement, ex-Red Bull driver, David Coulthard sat down with former F1 team owner, Eddie Jordan to analyze the #44 driver’s move to the iconic Scuderia. While Coulthard acknowledged the weight of Hamilton’s seven world championships, he believes his stint at Maranello could be the toughest of his career yet.

The Scotsman was referring to his soon-to-be teammate, Charles Leclerc whilst making that remark. Many view Leclerc currently as the fastest driver on the grid, over one lap, and that qualifying challenge that the Monegasque would pose could turn out to be a tricky one to cope with for the 39-year-old.

On the Formula for Success podcast, Coulthard explained, “I have to say, I think he will find one of his biggest challenges in Charles Leclerc. Charles is a young, brilliantly fast race driver. Yes, he doesn’t have the world championships and experience of Lewis, but I think he is a champion in wait.”

Hamilton, however, might be able to neutralize Leclerc’s qualifying prowess. In 2023, Leclerc qualified on pole five times, winning neither of those races. On the flip side, Hamilton, despite some really poor qualifying results, made up places through his supreme race craft.

The Mercedes nightmare that forced Lewis Hamilton to choose Ferrari in 2025

Lewis Hamilton has remained winless since the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Two years of racing for the Silver Arrows, since his championship loss to Max Verstappen, and Hamilton has failed to win a single Grand Prix. Naturally, tensions were bound to creep into his relationship with the team.

It all came to a boil at the start of the 2023 season. Hamilton was quite vocal about how the team did not listen to his feedback on the development of the W13 and W14. As the season progressed, the flaws of the W14 became more apparent. Seemingly vindicated, the Briton complained to the team multiple times over how bad the 2023 car was to drive for him.

Lewis Hamilton speaks honestly on the W14:

“I’ve had many cars like this, particularly in the McLaren days.”

“Last year, I said the issues with the car… It’s about [the team] owning up and saying – we didn’t listen to you.”https://t.co/QUuZYbzVJK

— formularacers (@formularacers_) March 8, 2023

It’s not like Mercedes did not acknowledge their mistakes. The revolutionary ‘zero-pods‘ design was an emphatic failure. The Brackley-based team ditched that 2022 gremlin on the eve of the 2023 Monaco GP. However, the damage was already done and the team were playing catch-up with the rest of the grid as Hamilton sulked after being denied to voice his concerns over the car’s development.

This internal cold war might end in 2024, as the Briton seeks to get this year over with and embark on an iconic story with the famous prancing horse from Maranello.