Expectations at Ferrari are high heading into the 2025 campaign. They want to win the championship, and anything short of that would be a failure, but both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc don’t want to draw conclusions too early.
Currently in pre-season testing, Hamilton insisted that the team’s aim is to gather information in hopes of preparing better for the campaign ahead.
“Our focus right now is on experimenting with different things, gathering as much data as possible, and getting familiar with the car, and we’ve already learned a lot,” he said after day one at the Bahrain International Circuit.
Now, Leclerc has added that it’s not right to judge the pace of the SF-25 yet.
“Everybody is hiding their true performance,” the Monegasque driver said, echoing the words of most around the paddock, who don’t consider pre-season lap times to be a true trailer of what’s to come.
Ferrari was simply following its own program, but Leclerc did have some good news for the Tifosi, who were wondering how the car felt. “The feeling is pretty good. We didn’t have any bad surprises for now, so that is good, but it’s too early to judge performance.”
And here is Charles Leclerc’s race simulation run from the afternoon session of Day 2 of preseason testing! pic.twitter.com/18canSOo4H
— Daniel Valente ️ (@F1GuyDan) February 27, 2025
In pre-season testing, teams often resort to sandbagging—that is, they hide their true potential to avoid revealing secrets to the watchful eyes of rival engineers. Additionally, they all run under different setups, plans, engine power, and fuel loads.
While only time will tell how quick Leclerc and Ferrari actually are this season, the 27-year-old is happy that the focus is finally not on him with the arrival of Hamilton.
Leclerc compares his first Ferrari season with Hamilton’s first
Hamilton has conquered the world of F1, but winning with Ferrari could be the crowning achievement of his storied career. At 40, he’s racing for a team most drivers can only dream of representing.
His teammate, Leclerc, meanwhile, has been with Ferrari for six seasons, but his arrival came under very different circumstances—something he acknowledged in the press conference.
Leclerc was still new to the sport, having driven for just Sauber the year before. Joining Ferrari in only his second F1 season, the experience felt entirely different. “Formula 1 was very new to me. I obviously had to learn how a team like Ferrari operates in the sport…”
Hamilton, on the other hand, is moving from a team where he won six world titles. The last three years were difficult, but the switch to Maranello has “rejuvenated” him. Unlike Leclerc, he is already well-versed in how top teams operate.
With so much attention on Hamilton recently, Leclerc noted that the “off-season was more in the shadow” for him, and he welcomed the change of not being in the spotlight.
While Leclerc has no issue staying out of the limelight, he will undoubtedly look to learn from Hamilton and pick up any insights that could help him in his pursuit of a maiden Drivers’ title.
