The 2025 Ferrari driver duo, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, have a stark gap in experience at the pinnacle of motorsport. Hamilton joined in 2007, went on to become a seven-time champion, and decided to join Ferrari at 40. Leclerc, on the other hand, is just 27 and is waiting for the right opportunity to kickstart his journey to the top.
So on paper, Hamilton has the advantage. The stats favor him. However, Leclerc being at Ferrari since 2019 gives him an edge, since he knows how the team works inside and out.
For years until Hamilton’s arrival, he was regarded as the golden boy of the Scuderia, even when four-time champion Sebastian Vettel was his teammate. So, does that mean Hamilton will have to learn a thing or two from the Monegasque once the season gets underway in eight days?
Leclerc doesn’t think so.
Fully understanding just how good the Briton is, Leclerc is more focused on learning from him than on teaching him anything. “I have more to gain from Lewis than he does from me,” he said to Sky Sports. “I think a driver like Lewis doesn’t need any advice.”
Leclerc, of course, is more familiar with Ferrari‘s environment. So he can help Hamilton adjust with the team’s workings once the season starts. But as the weeks roll by, the 27-year-old feels that he will be on the receiving end of some valuable knowledge handed out by the former Mercedes man.
“I know the Ferrari environment very well, I grew up here in Maranello, so I feel at home. But yes, Lewis set up immediately and he doesn’t need advice. If he needs it, I’m here….”
“I have more to gain from Lewis than he does from me”
Charles Leclerc: I think a driver like Lewis doesn’t need any advice. We talk a lot, so he certainly had a lot of questions, but so did I for him, because in the end, I’m the one who has to learn the most. I did a lot less… pic.twitter.com/Yn4GQQkUO4
— sim (@simsgazette) March 6, 2025
There might be instances where Hamilton looks to those around him, including Leclerc, for guidance. In terms of talent, he is arguably second to none. However, for the first time in his career, the Stevenage-born driver will be working with engines not made by Mercedes.
What Hamilton feels about adjusting to change
In 2024, when Hamilton announced that he would be leaving Mercedes, his boss (now former boss) Toto Wolff made some comments that could seem ungrateful. The Austrian spoke about how every driver had a “shelf life”, and Mercedes believed that Hamilton was nearing the end of his.
How did Hamilton feel about it? Not too bad.
The success he achieved with Wolff by his side overshadowed whatever petty remarks he may have made in their final years together. “I think he’s clarified his point. And you know Toto has been massively supportive over the years so it doesn’t really make any bearing on me,” he said in an interview last year.
On top of that, Hamilton doesn’t feel he is nearing the end of his career by any means. He is more motivated than ever to win his eighth world title and surpass Michael Schumacher as the driver with the most championships in the sport’s history. “I’m hungry, driven, don’t have a wife and kids. I’m focused on one thing, and that’s winning,” he told Time in February.
Ferrari is expected to have one of the fastest cars this year, and a charged-up Hamilton could be the biggest danger to the rest of the grid. How he truly fares against Leclerc and others will only be determined once the season gets underway next Friday in Melbourne.
