Following Thursday evening’s huge news that Lewis Hamilton will be a Ferrari driver in 2025, comments from his soon-to-be teammate, Charles Leclerc, have resurfaced.
1 February 2024 is a day which will be remembered in Formula 1 history, following the huge announcement that Hamilton is leaving Mercedes for Ferrari.
The 39-year-old is departing the Silver Arrows at the end of this year, in what is his 12th with the German manufacturer.
However, in 2025, Hamilton will no longer be associated to Mercedes for the first time since he was just 13 years old, as he’ll be wearing the famous red of Ferrari.
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Hamilton has agreed to a two-year contract with the Maranello-based outfit, which will see him replace Carlos Sainz and enter the new power unit regulations in 2026 with the iconic Italian manufacturer.
The seven-time World Champion joining Ferrari next year and partnering Leclerc is something very few saw coming, although it was rumoured last season before Hamilton signed his two-year Mercedes extension.
It turns out, his extension has a clause which allows him to leave at the end of 2024 to complete his Ferrari move.
When Hamilton was linked to Ferrari last year, Leclerc was asked if he’d like to have the Stevenage-born driver as a teammate.
At the time, the Monegasque admitted that “anybody on the grid would love” Hamilton alongside them and that they’d “learn a lot from him”.
Leclerc now gets the chance to be alongside the 103-time race winner and see what it’s like to work with someone of his calibre, in what’ll be a partnership feared by even the likes of Red Bull.
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“If I say yes, I imagine it being the title of every newspaper,” Leclerc said during a press conference last season, as reported by The Express.
“Lewis is such an incredible driver, has achieved so much in the sport, so I think anybody on the grid would love to have Lewis as a team-mate, as everybody would learn a lot from him. But again, I’m happy where I am, and with Carlos, it’s a great relationship too.”
The signing of Hamilton does mean 2024 is Leclerc’s last season with Sainz with him at Ferrari.