With Lewis Hamilton already 40, he is definitely at the twilight of his career. And at this age, he will arguably face one of his most difficult challenges at Ferrari — the task of matching Charles Leclerc.
While former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher believes it is incredible that Hamilton wants to challenge himself at even this age, he fears that the Briton may have given himself a near-impossible task.
Paddock rumors suggest that Hamilton is struggling to get up to speed when compared to Leclerc, who will compete in his seventh season this year with Ferrari. Schumacher also believes that these early struggles for Hamilton are not going to go away anytime soon as he will need time to adjust to a new team.
So, when Schumacher was quizzed about the likelihood of this dynamic with Leclerc spelling the end of Hamilton’s career, the 49-year-old told the German branch of Sky Sports,
“I would say very big”.
Advantage Leclerc?https://t.co/LisqPQjdm0 pic.twitter.com/6WcENTiCCM
— PlanetF1 (@Planet_F1) March 9, 2025
Schumacher went on to clarify that he didn’t mean to put Hamilton down. However, the reality of the situation is that Leclerc would have already built a team around himself and it would take Hamilton time to gain the trust of his team members.
“That may sound a bit harsh and not meant unfairly, but of course, it’s not easy, especially since Leclerc is already on the team. Lewis will simply need at least six months to really feel at home,” he added.
On the other hand, Leclerc needs to beat a driver of Hamilton’s caliber to finally prove to the entire world that he is championship-winning material per Schumacher.
Can Hamilton win with Ferrari in 2025?
Hamilton moved to Ferrari this year with just one goal in mind and that was to try and win an eighth title, which will make him the most successful driver in the history of the sport. Moreover, the Briton could also play a crucial role in ending the team’s 17-year-long title drought.
In fact, many paddock insiders and experts believe that Hamilton’s wealth of championship-winning experience is the final link the Scuderia need to assemble a title challenge. Former F1 driver Karun Chandhok also hopes that the Briton can win the title for Ferrari.
“I want to see Lewis win the championship for Ferrari. It would just be amazing for the sport. What an amazing story that would be,” he said on the Fast and the Curious podcast.
Going into the 2025 season, Ferrari are best positioned to mount a title challenge as they will be carrying forward the momentum from last season when they lost out on the title to McLaren by a mere 14 points at the season finale in Abu Dhabi.
