Charles Leclerc has been candid about how he felt about facing Lewis Hamilton before they joined Ferrari.
At forty, Hamilton will begin a new chapter in his illustrious Formula 1 career next year. Everyone was taken aback by the announcement of the change, especially Carlos Sainz, who is still looking for a new club despite being informed that his seat had been filled, before the current season had started.
It also happened only a few weeks after Leclerc and the team inked a new, long-term contract. Some may have thought Ferrari had lost faith in the Monegasque as their top driver after they signed Hamilton, but the 26-year-old says he is loving the challenge.
In an interview with BBC Sport, he revealed that when he learned of Hamilton’s departure, his first three thoughts were, “What an opportunity.” And he said as much when he discussed his feelings about putting himself to the test against the seven-time Formula One winner.
“I think it’s a fantastic opportunity,” he stated. First, to take a lesson from the world’s most accomplished driver. And to uphold my own standards against Lewis, who serves as everyone’s standard bearer.”
Furthermore, he maintains that he still has faith in Ferrari, saying, “Ferrari is Ferrari, and they need the best drivers in their cars.” Therefore, it makes perfect sense from Ferrari’s perspective. That seems like nothing bad to me because it’s Lewis Hamilton.
“I’m excited about it and think it will be incredibly intriguing, but I need to be convinced that I am the fastest driver when I put on the helmet. I’ve always maintained that during your career, you can learn from every teammate you have.
We always look at the statistics and each other when driving, so when I watch the way he drives, I don’t really see any vulnerabilities. And that’s what makes Lewis so amazing. All he has are strengths. I’m thus particularly interested in watching how he learns and improves by working with his engineers, getting criticism, and dealing with all of these kingdoms of things.”
Although Leclerc has championship aspirations, Ferrari hasn’t won the race since 2008, and he hasn’t been able to mount a consistent assault while he has been with the team. However, under the new manager Frederic Vasseur, who took over the previous year, the Monegasque thinks things will get better.
“In Formula One, you have to be as emotionally flat as possible, and Fred is always a little bit off balance,” he stated. He keeps the team on track and helps them not get too discouraged during our most trying times. Likewise, when we triumph, we should not get carried away, but rather acknowledge our shortcomings and remind everyone that this is just one race.”