Lewis Hamilton was once baffled when Ferrari axed one of his ‘favourite drivers’

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Lewis Hamilton will soon begin work with Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc. Both are expected to report to Maranello this month to start their 2025 preparations.

Naturally, all the focus will be on Hamilton, the seven-time world champion who’s just arrived. It’s likely Leclerc will clock up similar mileage – both in the TPC outings and this year’s challenger – so as not to be disadvantaged.

The Monegasque may start the season with an edge over Hamilton. Karun Chandhok said Leclerc was the second-best F1 driver in 2024 behind Max Verstappen, while his new teammate was only seventh.

Leclerc had a strong season, finishing third in the standings and standing on the podium 13 times (three times on the top step). Hamilton, by contrast, endured his poorest campaign to date as he missed out on the top six for the first time in his career.

More than that, Leclerc has already spent six full seasons with Ferrari, which means he’s fully accustomed to their processes and working methods. He’s also been part of their driver academy since 2016 and speaks fluent Italian.

The 27-year-old started out in F1’s midfield with Sauber in 2018, having won the F2 championship. But he impressed Ferrari enough to seal a swift graduation at the expense of Kimi Raikkonen.

Lewis Hamilton couldn’t understand why Ferrari let ‘extraordinary’ Kimi Raikkonen go

Speaking to Blick in 2018, Hamilton described Leclerc’s predecessor Raikkonen as one of his ‘favourite drivers’. Raikkonen was racing for McLaren in the early 2000s while the Englishman ascended the junior ranks.

Hamilton was already on the books of the Woking outfit and perhaps dreamed of being his teammate one day. Instead, the Finn left a year before he made his debut.

They would immediately battle for the world championship, and Raikkonen staged an all-time great comeback to beat Hamilton by just one point. The McLaren man won the title himself a year later.

Hamilton was extremely complimentary of Raikkonen ahead of his Ferrari farewell and suggested the Scuderia had made a mistake. The veteran joined Sauber, where he raced for another three seasons before his retirement.

“I don’t think Kimi will change in the final races,” Hamilton said. “He is an extraordinary professional, a fantastic driver. He remains one of my favourite drivers and I’m convinced that Ferrari are losing a very important driver. It does not make sense to me.”

Based on Leclerc’s subsequent performances, Hamilton misjudged the situation. The Ferrari debutant won two Grands Prix in 2019 and immediately outscored four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel.

Kimi Raikkonen overlooked Sebastian Vettel when naming best F1 teammate

Raikkonen must have seen his Ferrari exit coming. During their partnership, Vettel won 14 races, and he only won one (the 2018 US GP) – a stat that sums up the gulf between the two.

Still, Raikkonen snubbed Vettel when naming his best teammate. He instead went for David Coulthard, his initial partner at McLaren.

He also raced alongside Fernando Alonso during his second stint in F1. Raikkonen’s Ferrari return was born from Alonso’s ‘frustration’, with the hierarchy concluding that he was in need of a greater challenge.

Much as he’d been impressive at Lotus, the Iceman couldn’t provide it in the end.