Charles Leclerc has admitted that going up against Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari is a “huge challenge” and one of the biggest of his F1 career, Afrosport reports.
Leclerc had championship-winning teammates with the Scuderia, notably four-time champion Sebastian Vettel. He then had Carlos Sainz Jr, for four seasons before the Spaniard was replaced by Hamilton for the 2025 season.
Hamilton will be seen as Leclerc’s biggest challenge as he is a record seven-time world champion and will be aiming to win an elusive eighth title in his 40s.
The SF-25 is reportedly better suited to Hamilton’s driving style which will further add to the challenge for Leclerc. The Monegasque however believes his own abilities can give him the edge.
“I mean, obviously, as a driver, I’ve got full trust in my ability,” he said per Crash.net. “But also, having said that, it’s very difficult for now because I haven’t had any comparison with Lewis in the same car at the same time.
“So, I guess time will tell. But it’s definitely a huge challenge and probably one of the biggest of my career.
“He’s, again, the most successful driver in Formula 1 and to have him as my teammate is a really, really big motivation for me to learn from him but also, as you said, to show what I’m capable of and that motivates me a lot and I’m really looking forward to it.”
Meanwhile, Hamilton has reiterated he has no plans of retiring and is pleased with the culture at Maranello.
“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,” he said.
“I’ve worked with two world championship-winning teams before and I know what a winning team looks like.
“The passion here is like nothing you’ve ever seen, they’ve got absolutely every ingredient they need to win a world championship and it’s just about putting all the pieces together.
“We’ve got a great leader in Fred [Vasseur, team principal], and John [Elkann, Ferrari chairman], and Benedetto [Vigna, Ferrari CEO].
“Everyone just has a really calm and good approach. No one is like ‘we’re perfect in every single area’. Everyone knows we need to elevate in every single area and we’re leaving no stone unturned to try and do that.”
Charles Leclerc. Lewis Hamilton. Together in front of the world as Ferrari team mates 😍#F175LIVE @ScuderiaFerrari pic.twitter.com/sZggxDsxpJ
— Formula 1 (@F1) February 18, 2025
Hamilton and Leclerc will be on the track for the first time at the Australian Grand Prix on March 16.
