At the first ever combined F1 launch in London’s O2 arena, Ferrari’s Fred Vasseur, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were in perfect harmony. Despite Hamilton claiming he was there to win an eighth title, Leclerc was more diplomatic stating that he and Lewis would be doing their “best for the team.”
Yet how long will the love in between a driver who is desperate to claim his first F1 drivers’ title and the other who desperately wants to beat Michael Schumacher’s total of seven actually last?
Leclerc had told assembled media before the curtain raiser that he believed the Ferrari driver combination would in fact be a good thing. “Something I noticed we have a very similar driving style,” said the Monegasque. “We will need similar things from the car at least. This is my initial feeling,” Leclerc added. “It’s still to be confirmed because we haven’t driven that much together. But the little I’ve seen is that we tend to drive quite, quite similarly.”
Leclerc says Hamilton’s driving style similar to his
This could be music to the ears of the Ferrari bosses given various pieces of analysis performed over the four years Carlos Sainz was with the team suggested the Ferrari pairing then required different things from a car to maximise their potential.
With both drivers allegedly using similar braking styles in particular, this would mean the development direction of the car’s suspension and aerodynamics would be less of a compromise than when the team were attempting to deliver a car to suit different driver needs.
However, Lewis Hamilton has a history of falling out with his team mates. Inches rookie year he and Fernando Alonso almost tore the McLaren team apart. The result? Kimi Raikkonen sneaked through by a single point ahead of Hamilton and Alonso to win the drivers’ championship in 2007.
McLaren then recruited the compliant Heiki Kovalainen, who was not match for Hamilton in either qualifying or race craft. This love in came to an end when world champion Jenson Button became available following his title winning season with Brawn GP. Across their three year’s together, Button outscored Hamilton, the only driver ever to do this during Lewis’ career.
Hamilton uneasy relationship with team mates
Further, there were spats between the team mates which culminated at the 2012 Belgium Grand Prix when Button hammered Hamilton in qualifying and the race. Such was Lewis’ fury, that he tweeted the highly confidential comparative team telemetry to show that his car was set up differently to that of Button’s.
The came Lewis big move to Mercedes, and from 2014 to 2016 he and Nico Rosberg went at it hammer and tongues. They had the best car by far in the field and each knew to win an F1 world title required they merely beat their teams mate.
There were a number of on track run ins between the pair, the most memorable being at the Spanish Grand Prix in 2016. Rosberg led his team mate by 43 points and overtook Hamilton into turn one. Desperate not to give his rival any more of an advantage, Lewis’ tried to take back the place approaching turn four. The result a huge off with Max Verstappen winning the race on debut for Red Bull.
With Rosberg retiring Hamilton once again received a complaint wing man in Valtteri Bottas. They raced together for five seasons with Lewis being the better driver by far. Then in 2022 along came George Russell who had the match of his seven times champion team mate and finally crushed him 19-5 in qualifying over their final season together.
Leclerc the “best qualifier in F1”
This time Hamilton’s response to being beaten by his team mate appeared to make him deflated, with him even claiming in dejected fashion, “I’m just too slow.”
Now Ferrari have two drivers who despite the twelve year age difference are hungry for success. Leclerc is looking for his first drivers’ championship, while Lewis Hamilton is attempting a record eight. Even though Lelcerc claims their driving styles are similar, their performances in recent years are significantly different. Leclerc is one of the best qualifiers in F1 – if not the best. He has eight Grand Prix victories to his name but a whipping 26 pole positions.
The Monegasque has for his entire career in F1 out qualified his team mates although in the Grand Prix is prone to making mistakes. He has an ability to wrestle even a non complaint car across the kerbs and the bumps to such an extent that Sky F1 pundit Karun Chandhok described Leclerc last year as the “best qualifier in F1.”
Whilst this was once the domain of Lewis Hamilton in his uber dominant Mercedes car, many of his record 104 pole positions came when his team mate – the only one capable of beating him on Saturday – was not up to the task. Now Hamilton has suffered at the hands of young gun George Russell, his confidence in his one lap speed has been severely dented.
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Hamilton monster race craft remains
Yet there is hope for Lewis Hamilton given that his new found strength is his new team mates weakness. Come Sunday and the Grand Prix, Lewis is as good as driver as he has ever been. He demonstrated at Silverstone last year, in a car which was inferior to the Red Bull and the McLaren’s that his ability to maximise the resources underneath him in wheel to wheel combat is as good as its ever been.
This was even more evident later in the year in Las Vegas. Hamilton qualified a disappointing P10 while George Russell claimed the pole position. Yet Lewis cut through the field like th proverbial hot knife through butter and was hunting down his team mate for the win come the closing stages of the race.
All this being the case, Fred Vasseur may have a very large headache come the early part of this season. The Ferrari boss has managed both drivers, with Charles Leclerc in his rookie year at Alfa Romeo-Sauber and Lewis Hamilton in his GP2 championship winning season. He claims he is ready to let them race, with the ever present proviso that the team’s interest come first.
The reality though is this even handed attitude cannot last forever as McLaren discovered in 2024 with Lando Norris and young gun Oscar Piastri. At Reed Bull and Mercedes, there are undisputed no.1 drivers in Max Verstappen and George Russell. If push comes to shove rookie Kimi Antonelli will be told to yield to his senior team mate as will Liam Lawson despite having eleven Grand Prix under his belt.
Mercedes & Red Bull have No.1 drivers
Leclerc and Hamilton could easily be merely taking points from each other, though if their Ferrari car is the best, there’s always the consolation of the constructors’ trophy to be gained. McLaren failed to recognise when the gap grew to a point where it was unrealistic that Piastri could overtake his team mate, it was tie to throw their support behind Lando Norris.
This cost him on a number of occasions despite Piastri being 43 points behind Norris by round nine in Canada. Ferrari will only have a problem if Leclerc becomes the driver significantly ahead come a third of the season gone because such is the self assurance on the seven times world champion, he will believe he is capable of anything to claim that coveted eight drivers’ championship.
Hamilton insisted at F175 that he is in the shape of his life. “My resolution for the year was that my life, my mentality, had to be elevated in absolutely every area – my fitness, my time management, how I engage with my engineers, how much time I spend in the factory, all these different things.
Pre-season testing will reveal all
“I’ve definitely done that and I will continue to do that, in this strive for perfection and to achieve the success that I’m aiming to achieve. And if I was fortunate enough to win another title, which is obviously what we’re setting out to do, I don’t see myself stopping.”
Whilst pre-season testing in Bahrain often reveals little about the comparisons between the various teams, the comparable times of team mates will indeed spark the starting gun on the rivalry at Ferrari, a team not known for having two similarly competitive drivers’ in decades.
Of interest is the fact that across his career Lewis Hamilton has just two wins in Australia which returns ton host the F1 season opener this year, something Charles Leclerc will hope to capitalise on and start the year ahead of his team mate.
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Formula One proved it will continue to innovate as on Tuesday evening in London, the first ever combined launch of the F1 teams new liveries took place at the O2 arena in England. Initially Ferrari were unhappy about the location given the extra cost for them to transport their employees and equipment across Europe together with the fact fewer Italians would attend than had the event been held in Italy.
Yet as it turned out, Fred Vasseur, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton received the most rapturous of welcomes compared to the other teams seven minute presentations, though in part this was due to British fans favourite Lewis Hamilton is now wearing the Maranello red racing overalls.
Ferrari too broadcast a montage oaf the team’s history since its inception which included an emotional segment of the voice of their founding father and legend, Enzo Ferrari articulating the passion that should be felt when motor racing… READ MORE
The Judge, a nom de plume of an experienced F1 journalist and site founder with long-standing sources across the paddock. With over 30 years of experience in Formula 1 as an insider journalist, I have built trusted connections across the paddock, from race engineers and mechanics to senior team figures. At The Judge 13, I and a handful of trusted colleagues share exclusive Formula 1 news, expert analysis and behind-the-scenes stories you will not find in mainstream motorsport media.
