Lewis Hamilton officially kicked off his Ferrari career earlier this week, visiting the Maranello base for the first time and also taking the SF-23 for a spin. It was a true ‘first day at school’ feeling for the Briton, who hadn’t been in a similar situation in more than 12 years. The last time he switched teams was from McLaren to Mercedes in 2013, which is when he took a dig at new partner Nico Rosberg on his very first day.
Speaking to Mercedes’ media, Hamilton had said, “Yesterday, Nico was in there all day [in the sim] and he stopped for about 10 minutes and I got in and had couple of runs on the 2013 car. I went a little bit quicker than him.”
It was of course, as a joke, which shouldn’t come as a surprise since they were very close friends back then. In fact, they were pretty tight since their karting days, with the relationship taking a hit only after their first season together at Mercedes.
The Silver Arrows turned into a Championship-winning outfit, and the friendship turned into a bitter rivalry.
Lewis menace Hamilton after his first laps in the Mercedes simulator in 2013 : pic.twitter.com/EmRDuJUwvP
— sim (@sim3744) January 22, 2025
There were no more jokes thereafter, and they were desperately looking to be quicker than one another on the track. Hamilton came out on top, winning the title in 2014 and 2015, with Rosberg getting the final crown in 2016, which also turned out to be his final year in the sport.
The feud reached the boiling point at the 2016 Spanish GP, where they took each other out on the very first lap of the race. It got so bad that Toto Wolff, Team Principal, vowed to never let an environment as hostile as that, develop within Mercedes ever again.
Going into his Ferrari career, many expect a similar, albeit slightly toned down, dynamic to develop between the #44 driver and Charles Leclerc.
Can Leclerc and Hamilton develop a rivalry?
Currently, both Hamilton and Leclerc appear to be on good terms. Even in 2024—when they knew they would eventually be teammates—they got along well and admitted to being excited about the prospect of guiding the Italian squad to glory.
Leclerc has also openly expressed his desire to be mentored by the 40-year-old. “Lewis is such an incredible driver, has achieved so much in the sport, so I think anybody on the grid would love to have Lewis as a teammate, as everybody would learn a lot from him,” he said, per Motorsport Week.
That said, interests could collide in the coming months, potentially giving rise to some friction. While Hamilton will be gunning for that elusive eighth world title, Leclerc will be keen to establish his dominance within the team, having been with the Scuderia since 2019.
