Leclerc not afraid of Hamilton head-to-head

Charles Leclerc insists he is not anxious about having to take on Formula 1’s most successful driver in history as his Ferrari teammate from 2025.

It was rumoured that, at least initially, Leclerc was upset that new team boss Frederic Vasseur decided to break up his pairing with Carlos Sainz - a driver Leclerc admits he got on with well as they share the "same sense of humour".

Now, Corriere della Sera told the 26-year-old that he will be facing an "intense confrontation" next year with the much-older Hamilton, who arrives not only with fame and influence but also as the sport’s most successful driver in history.

"It will be a good duel," Leclerc insists. "I like competition, I like challenges, especially new ones. It is the essence of Formula 1."

When asked if he thought even for a moment about fleeing Ferrari, he answered emphatically: "Never."

He actually expects to get on well with Hamilton, who will be 40 when he pulls on his red overalls early next year.

"He’s not just ’Lewis the driver’," Leclerc admits. "He has become a much more important character.

"It’s not for everyone," he added. "There are those who prefer to stay within F1. But he broadened his horizons and the way he did it is impressive."

Some, though, worry that even with the impressive joint-number-1 pairing of Hamilton and Leclerc next year, Max Verstappen’s dominance as a driver will be difficult for Ferrari to overcome - irrespective of the Red Bull car.

"To become world champion, you need the best car-driver combination," Leclerc insists. "I don’t know what Max would do without Red Bull, and equally I don’t know what Red Bull would do without Max.

"It’s a winning combination today, but it’s up to us to go out there and beat them."

And Leclerc says Ferrari has already taken a step towards Red Bull early in 2024.

"I am confident Ferrari has the best chance to recover," he said. "We have made a leap forward compared to 2023, but there’s still a gap because it was a big one.

"But looking at the first race, we improved more than they did."