Despite Sebastian Vettel being widely expected to be the team leader when Charles Leclerc made his Ferrari debut in 2019, the Monegasque driver gave the four-time World Champion a run for his money. Now, Leclerc will team up with Lewis Hamilton, who has won three more titles than Vettel. So, is Leclerc going to do the same again?
Well, Laurence Edmonson isn’t too sure. The journalist, in an ESPN video, admitted to the possibility of history repeating itself. After all, Leclerc certainly has the talent to beat anyone in F1 on his day. But Hamilton certainly won’t be as easy to beat as Vettel was.
“Leclerc just came in and made Vettel look—to be honest—quite average by the end of the season,” Edmonson said, before pointing out how quickly the youngster turned the hierarchy around at the Maranello-based outfit, establishing himself as the number one driver.
It was an expensive Saturday for Sebastian Vettel in Brazil
This incident at the weighbridge cost him a €25,000 fine
Will his fortunes change on Sunday? #BrazilGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/S2PlXN5F80
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 11, 2018
Today, Leclerc is the golden boy at Ferrari, one who has long been tipped to bring Championship glory back to the team. But Hamilton’s arrival has the potential to change that.
“If Leclerc can stamp his authority early on, then Lewis’ job is made all that bit harder,” Edmonson continued. “Having said all that, I think Lewis is a different beast.”
Statistically the greatest driver of all time, Hamilton has just one record to break — that of winning the most Championships in F1 history for which he is currently tied at seven with Michael Schumacher. His struggles with Mercedes’ sub-par car for the last three years is one of the reasons why he joined Ferrari in 2025.
But just like Vettel did back in the day, Hamilton has struggled to adapt to the new generation of F1 cars. His CV aside, if he fails to get up to speed too quickly, Ferrari’s preference—at least internally—could once again shift in favor of Leclerc for the rest of Hamilton’s time in Italy.
Hamilton looking to shrug off his Mercedes struggles
At the Brackley-based squad, Hamilton was unhappy with the technical side of things. He pointed out several flaws with the W13, W14, and also the W15 — all of which were ignored by the engineers, adding to his frustrations. This took a hit on Hamilton’s confidence.
He started making mistakes where he normally didn’t, and surprisingly, became weak in the area he was the most successful in – qualifying. With 104 pole positions, no driver in F1 history comes close to the tally. But in 2024, his teammate George Russell dominated him on that front, outqualifying him 19 times in 24 races.
| Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton in their 2025 Ferrari race suits. pic.twitter.com/9p6lIRWfhY
— formularacers (@formularacers_) January 27, 2025
Leclerc himself is a force to reckon with on a one-lap pace. So, to succeed at Ferrari, that is the one area Hamilton will want to get better in rather quickly.
If the 40-year-old does get up to speed and Leclerc pushes him like he did Vettel, we could also have an interesting intra-team battle on our hands. Ferrari wants to win the Constructors’ title, so they will need the two to be at their best. At the same time, both drivers will be chasing personal glory.
