Formula 1 star Charles Leclerc says he cannot wait to work with Lewis Hamilton when he joins Ferrari.
The Brit shocked the world when he announced at the start of the season he would be leaving Mercedes after nearly 13 years to represent the prances horses alongside Leclerc.
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Hamilton will be the Monegasque’s third team-mate at Ferrari after Sebastian Vettel and Carlos Sainz.
The seven-time F1 champion earned his first race win since Saudi Arabia in 2021 at the British Grand Prix two weeks ago and has since earned the praise of almost every driver on the grid, including his future partner.
Speaking to the BBC, Leclerc said: “For me, it’s an incredible opportunity. First, to learn from the most successful driver ever. And to prove myself as well against Lewis, who is a benchmark for everybody.
“Ferrari is Ferrari. And they need the best drivers in their cars. So, for the benefit of Ferrari, it is completely understandable.
“For me, I don’t see any negative in that, because it’s Lewis Hamilton.”
When asked if he thinks he can consistently outperform 104-time race winner, Leclerc added: “Well, I need to be convinced that I am the fastest driver when I put the helmet on, but I am really looking forward to it, and it will be super-interesting for me.
Charles Leclerc says there are no negatives in Lewis Hamilton joining Ferrari for next season.
🗣 “Ferrari is Ferrari. And they need the best drivers in their cars.”
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— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) JULY 18, 2024
“I have always said you learn from every single team-mate you have over your career. When I look at the way he drives – because we always look at each other and data – you don’t really see any weaknesses. And that’s where Lewis is incredible. He’s only got strengths.
“So I’m really looking forward to seeing how he works with his engineers, the feedback, and all of these kinds of things, to learn and become better.”
Leclerc also won his home race this season, taking victory at Monaco.
But Ferrari are still struggling to keep pace with the frontrunners over the entire season, despite a strong start.
At the end of last season, the most successful team in the sport were comfortably Red Bull’s closest competitors.
But a recent upgrade in Barcelona has hindered their progress, just as Hamilton and Mercedes have started to find a breakthrough with their car.
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The Brit has stood firm by his decision to move to Ferrari in 2025, but the evidence on track currently is that he is moving to a slower team.
However, Leclerc has discarded questions about the car’s potential and said a few changes need to be made to get them back on track and fighting for wins.
He said: “In the last few races, we are not exactly where we want to be in terms of performance and that is my main priority – to come back to a performance where we are in the fight for poles and wins.
“I would expect us to be in the fight with McLaren and Red Bull as soon as we maximise the potential of our upgrades on the car.”
The Hungarian Grand Prix takes place this weekend, another strong track for Hamilton.
He has won there eight times in his career and will be doing everything he can to continue proving to Ferrari that he remains at the top of his game while enjoying driving a Mercedes for the first time in over two years.
