Charles Leclerc reacts to Lewis Hamilton turning his form around at Ferrari, ‘a lot more comfortable’

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Lewis Hamilton continued his positive trajectory at Ferrari by qualifying third at the Mexican Grand Prix. Hamilton still needs to take another step, but the improvement from the first half of the year is clear.

The seven-time world champion qualified in the top three for a full-length race for the first time since he joined Ferrari in the winter. That follows two fourth-place finishes in Austin, matching his best result of the season.

Leclerc remains the lead driver at Maranello, but the average gap between the two drivers has come down. The battle next year could be markedly closer.

Hamilton’s demeanour has also changed in the media. Having called himself ‘useless’ just before the break, he’s opted for a more optimistic approach, while still highlighting the areas where he and the team need to improve.

Lewis Hamilton now knows ‘basically everything’ about Ferrari

Speaking to ESPN prior to the Mexican Grand Prix weekend, Leclerc praised the teammate dynamic he’s built with Hamilton. He’d spent the last four seasons alongside Carlos Sainz, who was able to push him a little harder.

Leclerc believes Hamilton has improved because he’s now ‘comfortable’ with the unfamiliar systems in the Ferrari car after 12 seasons at Mercedes. Now he too has become an expert.

The Monegasque, who was previously the bigger name in the garage, admits Hamilton has taken ‘all the light and attention’ this year. Leclerc’s performances have arguably been underrated in that context, but he says the presence of F1’s most successful driver has helped him.

“It’s going really well,” he said. “We’re working very well together. Obviously, in the first part of the season, Lewis had to learn all these systems that there are in the car.

“Now he’s a lot more comfortable and he knows basically everything about the team.

“It’s been very interesting for me and a big challenge for me as well, because when you’ve got Lewis joining the team, there’s obviously all the light and attention on Lewis, and I had to just deal with that, focus on myself and try to do the best I could on my side, to learn from Lewis whatever he’s done so well in past years to try and show whatever he’s capable of, so I came into the season very motivated.”

Jacques Villeneuve says Lewis Hamilton is calmer than Charles Leclerc at Ferrari

Martin Brundle says Hamilton and Leclerc were ‘too close for comfort’ during their battles at the US GP. The final ‘score’ from the weekend was 1-1.

Given that Hamilton has largely trailed Leclerc, the two have rarely exchanged positions without the involvement of team orders. Fred Vasseur must have found it relatively straightforward to manage his two stars this year, but it will become more challenging if they start fighting more regularly.

Jacques Villeneuve says Hamilton is letting Leclerc do his dirty work, with the 28-year-old venting his ‘anger’ about the 2025 car.

Hamilton, by contrast, is more focused on next year and the first car that will bear the hallmarks of his influence, provided the team have taken his feedback on board.