Charles Leclerc admits he’s still not ‘on the same level’ as Lewis Hamilton despite dominating Ferrari battle

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Even though Charles Leclerc is beating Lewis Hamilton in every aspect of the teammate battle at Ferrari during the 2025 F1 season, the Monegasque has identified one area where he still isn’t ‘on the same level’ as him.

Ferrari completed a dream driver line-up upon the announcement that Hamilton would partner Leclerc at the team during the 2025 F1 campaign.

Leclerc encouraged Ferrari’s pursuit of Hamilton after he had heard about the iconic racing outfit’s desire to sign the seven-time world champion. He was looking forward to the prospect of testing his skills against one of F1’s most successful drivers.

So far, the 28-year-old has trumped his more experienced teammate in every facet of the traditional teammate battle, but Leclerc has made it clear that he is still lacking in one realm that sets Hamilton apart from the rest of the grid.

READ MORE: Ferrari have now decided not to make one ‘profound’ change to Lewis Hamilton’s 2026 F1 car

Charles Leclerc admits that he needs to win F1 titles to be ‘on the same level’ as Lewis Hamilton

In a promotional video on Shell Motorsport’s official Instagram page, the star Ferrari duo were tasked with reading out a number of nice comments that fans had sent in for them.

In the midst of the task, Hamilton noted how sweet the letters were, before reading one out that said, “I’m proud of you two and everything you do. You both are an inspiration to many of us. Thank you.”

Touched by the nice words, Leclerc responded with, “We’ll try to continue to be, but I still need to win some titles before being on the same level as LH.”

The response shows a clear length of respect that the Monegasque driver shows to his teammate, who, in the world of Formula 1, also happens to be his biggest rival at every race weekend.

Amid their first season as Ferrari teammates, Leclerc has been complimentary of Hamilton’s abilities.

The eight-time Grand Prix winner highlighted how he hasn’t been surprised by the Brit’s skills, due to the fact that he knew of Hamilton’s magic well before they became counterparts at Ferrari.

READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton reveals the biggest difference between Ferrari and every other Formula 1 team

Charles Leclerc hasn’t been totally happy with the addition of Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari

After suffering from the usual pains that come with switching constructors, Hamilton has managed to turn his season around and get into a place where he is more comfortable with the driving style that the SF-25 requires.

Leclerc has been impressed with Hamilton’s pivot in form as he looks towards the future with the team in mind. If Hamilton struggles, then he may also end up struggling.

However, according to Sky Sports F1 presenter Simon Lazenby, Leclerc is ‘not a happy camper’ within the Ferrari ranks due to the spotlight being taken away from him.

Having spent the majority of his tenure at the Scuderia as the favoured number one driver, the Brit’s introduction to the team threw a bit of a spanner into the works.

The shift in favour from Ferrari is understandable, considering the vast amount of experience and knowledge of what it takes to win multiple world titles that Hamilton brings to the table.