Neither Ferrari nor Mercedes are anywhere near to challenging Red Bull for the championship at the moment. Despite that, Lewis Hamilton has made a switch to Maranello for the 2025 season. Currently, he shares cordial relations with his future teammate, Charles Leclerc. However, will it stay the same once they both start driving for Ferrari and the team develops a car capable of winning the championship? Marc Priestley believes it would be highly unlikely. The former McLaren mechanic, in an exclusive interview with The Sports Rush’s Tanish Chachra, said,
“I’ve never seen two teammates if they’re ever in a position to go for a championship, there are no tensions. It’s the nature of Formula 1. We had it with Lewis and Fernando Alonso back in 2007, when the only person stopping either of our drivers from winning the world title was the other guy on the other side of our own garage. And so they become enemies, which is such a weird concept because they’re also your teammates”.
Priestley, however, highlighted that Hamilton has served as an excellent teammate in the past. That is a trait that Priestly has observed in Leclerc as well. But there are no guarantees that the demeanor of both of them will stay the same if Ferrari can provide them with a competitive car.
According to Priestley, another factor that could play against the camaraderie between the two is the hunger for winning the championship. Priestly discussed about how desperate Hamilton is to win the record-breaking eighth world championship. At the same time, Leclerc is yet to win his first and would love to do so soon.
How can Ferrari avoid a clash between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc?
If push comes to shove, Ferrari and Frederic Vasseur will have a situation at their hands, one that will not be easy to manage. Marc Priestley, who has firsthand seen intra-team rivalries turn into crises, believes it is going to be a tough one to handle.
He is also of the opinion that there would be no easy solution. Ferrari might have to make some unpopular decisions. For example, Lewis Hamilton faced the wrath of Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff after his infamous crash with Nico Rosberg at the 2016 Spanish GP.
To ensure that the situation at Ferrari does not go that far, Priestley suggests a transparent approach by the team towards both drivers. The 47-year-old feels if Ferrari can ensure the exact same opportunities for both drivers, with the best development path in place, there won’t be much for Hamilton and Leclerc to complain about.
