Ahead of the arrival of the seven-time F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur reckons that the mutual respect between the Briton and Charles Leclerc will ensure a smooth cooperation between the two drivers.
Lewis Hamilton announced his shock departure from Mercedes on the 1st of February. The announcement caught the Formula One community by surprise, as the seven-time world champion was set to race for the Brackley-based outfit until the end of 2025.
However, an exit clause in his contract allowed Hamilton to leave the team in 2025 if he wished, and the Briton elected to terminate his contract at the end of the current season and seek for a new challenge at Ferrari next year.
Hamilton is statistically the most successful driver in the history of Formula One, tied with the great German seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher on the number of world championship titles.
The British driver will join Charles Leclerc to complete the Scuderia’s driver line-up for the upcoming season. The Monegasque made his F1 debut with the Sauber-run Alfa Romeo team in 2018 before joining Ferrari the following season.
Leclerc immediately displayed impressive pace, and clinched his first F1 victory at the 2019 Belgian Grand Prix before coming out on top of a fierce battle with Lewis Hamilton at the subsequent race in Monza to secure an emotional victory on Ferrari’s home turf. The Monegasque completed one of his most competitive seasons last year, winning three races at Monte Carlo, Monza and Austin.
Although many fear from team-intern controversies between the British and the Monégasque racers, Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur reckons that the mutual respect between Hamilton and Leclerc will ensure a smooth cooperation between the two drivers.
“Charles, Lewis, I am not particularly worried about this. They have a huge mutual respect, they know each other, they have been talking about this for months now.
“It is much better to fight for first and third or second and third than to fight for 19th and 20th. It is a good issue for a team to have this kind of discussion and approach and I am really convinced again that the performance of the team is coming from the emulation between the two,” the Frenchman is quoted as saying by BBC Sport.
