While the 2024 season has concluded with a bang, there is already a lot of anticipation building toward next year, with the major spotlight on Ferrari’s superstar driver line-up of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. Now, there was a notion that the seven-time world champion is past his prime and could struggle against the young Monegasque. But Leclerc himself has backed him in that regard.
“He’s never lost it and never will never lose it,” were the words of the #16 driver when asked to comment about the Briton’s abilities. Leclerc‘s praises for his future teammate did not end there as he added,
“Lewis is Lewis and will always remain Lewis. He’s extremely talented. I mean talented is probably not the word. He’s obviously a legend of our sport”.
| Charles Leclerc on Sir Lewis Hamilton : “He has never lost it and will never lose it.”
“I never had the doubt on that. Lewis is Lewis and will always remain Lewis. He’s extremely talented, I mean talented is probably not the word. He’s obviously a legend of our sport, he’s…
— sim (@sim3744) December 8, 2024
This doesn’t mean that the Monegasque driver is going to give Hamilton a free pass in 2025. He will be keen to match and beat him on track, and the duo could develop a superb rivalry. On top of that, it will be interesting to see whether a change of scenery for the seven-time world champion can help him regain his dominant form of the 2010s.
While Leclerc claims that Hamilton “will never lose it,” Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff believes all drivers — no matter how good they are — have a “shelf life” and that the 39-year-old is towards the end of it. Although no one can argue with the Austrian, the question is whether Hamilton is actually towards the end of his “shelf life”.
After all, he won two races for Mercedes this season and finished seventh in the Drivers’ Championship, just 22 points behind his teammate George Russell despite an unpredictable car. Wolff also understands Hamilton‘s contribution towards Mercedes in his last season with them and claims that his remarks from his book were taken out of context.
Hamilton’s Abu Dhabi GP performance shows he’s still got it
Although Hamilton’s Abu Dhabi GP weekend began on a disappointing note with him only qualifying P18, he proved he’s still got it by storming through the field and finishing P4, one place ahead of Russell, who qualified P7. This was one of the many times this season when the #44 driver has managed to deliver when he has got a quick enough car underneath him.
Wolff, understanding Hamilton’s contributions this season, clarified his “shelf life” remark by stating, “That was one sentence in a book and there were 99 sentences around the Brazil weekend and quotes in some interviews that I’ve given about Lewis where I clearly remark that he’s the greatest driver of all time”.
Wolff has no doubt that Hamilton would have been able to fight for the world championship even this season if Mercedes had provided him with a quick enough car. However, fans will no longer get to see Hamilton do the same in Mercedes colors.
