Ferrari are repeating special ‘earn it’ measures with Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc in 2025

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The battle between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc at Ferrari is set to be one of the most entertaining showdowns of the 2025 season.

Ferrari are looking to right the wrongs of 2024 and grab their first drivers’ title since 2007 and constructors’ title since 2008. Leclerc and Carlos Sainz grabbed five wins between them last season, but it was not enough to beat McLaren.

The Maranello outfit have given their 2025 title chances a huge boost with the signing of seven-time champion Hamilton. The Brit has officially started life as a Ferrari driver this week having conducted his first test at the Fiorano Circuit on Wednesday.

His teammate joined him on track for his first outing of 2025 ahead of pre-season testing in Bahrain. Leclerc sent a ‘very special’ message to Hamilton as he expressed his excitement about sharing the track with the 40-year-old.

Hamilton and Leclec will be one of the closest intra-team battles in 2025 as the former looks to get off to a flying start at Ferrari after a difficult few seasons with Mercedes.

Lewis Hamiton and Charles Leclerc must ‘earn’ the number one driver spot as Tony Brooks did in 1959

Many have wondered who will come on top at Ferrari this season, and also who the team will look to prioritise as their number one driver.

Ferrari have said they will give Hamilton and Leclerc equal opportunity, suggesting that they will not appoint a number one driver and will let the duo do the talking on the track.

READ MORE: All you need to know about Scuderia Ferrari from team principal to factory

This is a repeat of what Enzo Ferrari did with Tony Brooks back in 1959. The Brit joined the team that season from Vanwall and went on to finish runner-up in the standings to Jack Brabham.

Speaking on the Beyond The Grid Podcast, Brooks – who is one of 11 British drivers to race for Ferrari before Hamilton – shared how he was told he would not be appointed as the number one driver, but rather he had to ‘earn it’.

“I met Enzo Ferrari in his office and I had a very constructive discussion with him for about half an hour, that was all.

“We had this very congenial meeting and we discussed the terms and everything and he said: ‘Oh by the way, I don’t appoint number one drivers until they are participating in the team. We’ll see who’s doing what in the season that time, performing in the particular season.

“So, I wasn’t asking for number one driver anyway, but he just made it clear that’s how he worked. You had to earn it, and I did finish up as number one driver but on the basis of results and not being appointed from the start”.

Will Lewis Hamilton or Charles Leclerc win the battle at Ferrari?

Who will come out on top between Hamilton and Leclerc will be a debate that will rumble on throughout the 2025 season.

It is too early at this stage to make a prediction or take testing into account. Hamilton was six seconds quicker than Leclerc at Fiorano, but that was because the latter ran fewer laps and did all of them in torrential rain.

Leclerc will be one the front foot initially as he is already accustomed to the Ferrari setup and knows Italian. But Hamilton is looking to integrate himself into the team quickly.

The Brit was seen greeting his new team members in Italian with a beaming smile on his face. F1 fans noticed Hamilton looks joyous about his Ferrari move and is keen to get stuck in after a disappointing end to his Mercedes stint.

Leclerc will be arguably Hamilton’s biggest challenge yet as a teammate. But Guenther Steiner thinks Hamilton needs that challenge as he moves across to F1’s most successful team.